A Wild Sheep Chase

The writing of this novel was a little different than what I'm used to and that could easily be accredited to it being written originally in japanese and then translated to english. With that being said, I really forgot where this was taking place until the text mentioned different locations within Japan. I don't know if this is because I watch and read a lot of stuff from Japan and am interested in their culture therefore didn't find some cultural things out of place but it still stands that I felt like I could submerse into the story fully without the distraction of not knowing foreign contexts. Although, I do not know what the significance of sheep is. Anyways, it marks the beginning of a good novel that can attribute to an array of different people while still conveying the same basic messages.

Within the story itself we find some really interesting characters that are never given full names. I don't know if I like this because it's easier to project our own life ideals and images onto the objects presented to us or if I find it creepy that I'm not given a name to a face. I guess that it helps with the pacing of the book since foreign audiences won't get hung up on Japanese names with too many syllables. Did Haruki Murakami even know that this novel was going to be taken to other countries? I'm sure there was a more psychological reason for excluding real life names. Maybe it has to do with that fact that we will be dealing with forces outside of the realm of reality. When I was researching more about this book I came across the listing of it as a "surreal" novel and in many ways I feel like that title fits the work better rather than horror. I tend to forget it's even supposed to be horror other than some underlying themes that would we call "creepy". For instance, the reappearance of a peculiar sheep in pictures and the distinct feeling that it'll be more important in the end events but we aren't quite sure why would be very unsettling.

What I enjoyed most about this novel, though, is the extreme attention to detail and the author's choice of twisting said detail to become very poetic. His style of writing really does hook the reader by the gills and draw them in to this world where everything that is mundane is also beautiful and mysterious in a way. You can feel the protagonists love and obsession for his new girlfriend's distinctly gorgeous ears or awkwardness of being in a room that he did not feel he belonged in. I began to wish I could see things the narrator did just so that the world was more palpable and easy to touch much like how I feel after watching a Hayao Miyazaki film. What is it about the japanese? Are they born to be that observant?