A Wild Sheep Chase
Alfred Birnbaum (Translator)
353pp
I'm sure at this point anyone reading my reviews might be asking why I would read so many books by an author I don't love. Or, the Murakami fans may be asking when this dense old fool will just keel over and leave this world.
So, it is with pleasure that I examine the first Murakami I ever read, and one of the books the I would argue shows his true ability that makes him a fascinating author.
This is considered to be the third book of four in Murakami's Rat Quadrilogy, though the through line is of limited importance. What is much more important is that after the first two rather mundane attempts to become a writer, here we see an author born.
The story is an odd one. A man is confronted about a picture he used in an advertisement he created. In the background, barely noticeable is an odd sheep. The picture had been taken by an old friend and this sends our narrator on a trip to discover the truth. What truth? Sometimes that's hard to tell, and actually rather unimportant. What actually matters is from this beginning we are strapped in to Murakami's rollercoaster and off on a ride of mystery, confusion, psychology, magic realism, and thrills.
The positives here are all style and the way Murakami is able to pull along a reader. His good books are terribly hard to put down, and even harder to get out of your head. As with much of his work, this book touches on abandonment, growth and living.
If there is a negative to be found, it would be for those who might complain that in reality, the whole journey is all for naught. To avoid any spoilers I'll just say that upon putting the book down some might sigh and exclaim: "What was that all about anyway?"
I think that that reaction is quite understandable, but will say that any reader in that position should take a step back and a breath and consider how enjoyable and unique the ride they just exited was. To argue against a book like this is to argue that Murakami has to be another author. Would a different outcome have been better? Is Murakami afraid to finish things? I don't know, but I do know that when he finds an interesting world and puts it on paper I will follow him even if I know that the ending won't give me all the I hope for.
This is a great book to start with to gage your Murakami sustainability. It contains a lot of what makes Murakami both great, but also a bit difficult for some. If you love it, pick up another, but if you don't, you've certainly spent less time here than on many of Murakami's much larger works.
Recommended.
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