Book Recommendations
In the spirit of writing more drivel about consuming media, I thought I’d tell you all about one of my newest favorite authors. Coincidentally, I discovered him through a friend (thanks Soulman) right before I left for Japan. The coincidental part is that the guy’s Japanese: Haruki Murakami. The novel I read was entitled ‘A Wild Sheep Chase,’ the original Japanese title being hitsuji wo meguru bouken (The Sheep Search Adventure). I could go off about how I find English to be way more descriptive than Japanese, but I’ll save that for another rant. Anyway, ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’ is probably my favorite out of all the Murakami books I’ve read.
The book follows the path of an unnamed protagonist, who is a recent divorcee. He lives an astoundingly plain and simple life; Murakami seems to almost revel in describing the regularity of this man's existence. This regularity changes, however, when the protagonist receives a photo of some sheep from a friend. He then uses that photo in a nondescript PR bulletin. A short time later, he is visited by a mysterious man who represents a 'powerful right-wing group.' This man points out a certain sheep in the photo, and tells the protagonist to find it, or else. Asking questions such as, "Why?", our hero and his girlfriend (who has remarkably beautiful ears) trek to Hokkaido, in an effort to locate this particular sheep, and possibly the friend who sent the photo.
One of the main things that I like about Murakami is the way he portrays his main characters as just regular men. Their lives are generally fairly average, which is something that many readers can probably relate to. Some may feel that Murakami is a bit too verbose in his descriptions of basically nothing, but I find it to be relaxing to read. In many cases, the protagonist will not have a clear course of action. Just as in life, many times the characters will have to sit and wait for things to develop, rather than have everything work out for them instantly.
So, I recommend checking out 'A Wild Sheep Chase' if you've never had the pleasure of reading Murakami. When you're done with that, get 'Dance Dance Dance,' the sequel. And then read 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.' If you're like me, you won't be able to put 'em down.
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adam wrote on :
MUST CONSUME MEDIA