Book Review
A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
I was stuck at the airport for hours in Tokyo, because I am a fantastic friend and opted to join the girls on their early morning airport pilgrimage rather than sleep a few hours extra and meet them in Korea. This meant I had time to kill in Narita Airport, so I alternated between snacking and eating for the most part. I was woken up by a crying child and figured there must be a better way to spend my time and I went wandering around and found some super well-stocked book shops. They had a great mix of Japanese and English books, so I stood in the English section for a good 30 minutes deciding what book I wanted to read. I was really happy to see plenty of Japanese books with English translations, so I picked up some that had the 'ol tag line of "best seller" on them. Many of them were by some guy named Murakami, so I grabbed one of his and flipped to the back to see what the deal was. To be honest, they all seemed a little, well, weird. Some borderline supernatural, some murder mysteries, some action, and some romance (are sex and romance the same thing?? I seriously doubt it, but I think you get my point). I ended up settling on a book called "A Wild Sheep Chase", which was apparently about a guy who goes looking for a lost magic sheep with his girlfriend who has ears that give her ESP. Ok, like I said, it was strange pickings.
Can I just say, it was the best thing I have read since "American Gods".
The narrator is a recently divorced guy who, through strange circumstances, ends up being blackmailed into hunting for a lost sheep that was photographed by a friend. This sheep is kinda magic - it possesses people and they end up doing great things. I see now that the sheep must be a metaphor for something, but I am still thinking about this book and puzzling over what it could be.
Anyway the guy goes off with his new girlfriend on the hunt for the sheep, and ends up meeting people from his past on the way. I think the Narrator himself is a pretty messed up dude, and in a way going on this little sheep hunt is a way of him sorting through his own life. I wont give away the ending, but it certainly didn't end the way I thought it would, which I quite like in a book. I used to read a whole lot, so endings to stories tend to become rather predictable... This one ended badly but well fitting for the story. Some might actually say it was a happy ending of sorts. Have a read and tell me what you think I spose.
The book is writing in the first person, a style I am not accustomed to but fitted this story well. He ducks into the past at times, but tells these things as if he is talking to you real time. The author is descriptive without going into retarded detail, and keeps things on point. Certain parts of the story seemed a little irrelevant to me, but it all went towards character development so I guess it all worked out. So if you are reading, stick with the seemingly off bits.
Having just been in Japan and seeing certain sites mentioned, it was nice to put a real image to the places. The story is mainly set in areas in Northern Japan, and even if you have never been there (which I haven't) you can certainly get a feel about what its like.
I liked the main character. I felt like he was totally relatable, because everyone at some point knows what it feels like to simply feel, well, there. Just being present without actually being present. Utterly mediocre and static. He needed something to put him back into motion and remind him to live. I don't know what happens to him after the book, but in my head I have made up a great scenario for him, where things turn out well. Unfortunately I don't think that they would have... I think he may have gone the way of "Rat".
An interesting side the the actual writing is that no one is named. Some people have nicknames, but not one person is actually named. I thought this was quite clever...
So anyway I really think you should read it. It was a good book, but kinda makes you think. Like I said earlier, I am still undecided about what the sheep actually represents. I googled it, and some people have said personal ambition, some religion/faith, some depression, some drugs. I honestly don't know.
Side note on my holiday/vacation
Yes, I went to Japan for 8 days and then back to Korea where I spent a drunken week in Busan with 2 of my Aussie friends. Nay is still here in Korea, so after she leaves and I have a bit more time, I will let everyone know what we got up to (G-rated version) and how the whole thing was. I also took some adorable videos of my kids for Summer Camp so I will get them up too.
I can already tell this next 6 months is gonna fly by... I signed my new contract yesterday with Songshin, so I am locked for another year in this mad place. I mean mad in the literal sense, not this whole "mad"/"cool"/"awesome" sense. Its crazy here, I am going to come home and need to be locked away in an asylum for another 12 months. I'll be mid-30's before I am fit for Australian society again.
So yeah I will update next week or something. No promises, because I break them all the time.
xoxoxo
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