A Wild Sheep Chase

A Wild Sheep chase presented a unique literary adventure. The most striking characteristic of the novel was how un-striking it was; many of the themes and events the book grappled with involved mediocrity and blandness; it was how the novel dealt with this ideas that I found particularly interesting.

A Wild Sheep Chase follows the classic model of extraordinary events happening to someone particularly ordinary; Murukami acknowledges this fact often, infact making it an integral theme within the book. The reading isn’t allowed to escape the pressing mediocrity of the main character, even when presented with grief, intrigue, and peril, the protagonist doesn’t show an ounce of excessive emotion. Near the end, when He smashes a guitar, the reader is just as jarred as the Sheepman; up until that point the protagonist had gone about all his actions almost completely devoid of enthusiasm or concern. That he would suddenly show such a violent outburst doesn’t even feel like it comes from the same character, and sure enough, we learn that the outburst was an intentional ploy to shake up the Sheepman/rat. I found it fascinating that despite the fact that I may see a thousand simulated explosions and murders a day on television and video games, I was more than slightly disturbed by the protagonist’s outburst. I found this rather impressive, as I would never expect the author to be so successful in surprising his readers so effectively.

If this book was focused solely on mediocrity, I doubt I would have gotten past the 1st page. What truly engaged me in this book was the tone and writing style Murukami used to describe the angst of mediocrity. His writing style often digressed into an existential, flowery prose, much more poetic than descriptive. I found this use of philosophical linguistics both engaging and informing. The usage of these literary techniques contrasted nicely the prevalent mediocrity, almost as if to suggest that the blandness of the protagonist’s existence allowed a greater territory for his mind to wander. In this way, I did not find it jarring in the slightest when Murukami would drift between exposition and fluffy philosophical ramblings.