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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
snoozefest but i commend haruki murakami for his show of intelligence in which he likens a whale's penis to sadness and suffering (i laugh whenever i reference it) very unfortunate that the book only got good at the end.
if you get past the insufferably dull moments, magical ear fetish, ludicrous comments about sex and the slight nudge to anti-feminism, the book can be good.the mystery of the sheep, the role of the blood cyst and the plot twist with The Rat were all very intriguing. wish the concept of the sheep taking control of a human body was more explored though. the ending was mellow and done pretty nicely.
my second favorite part of the book is when an old man gets accused of engaging in sexual relations with sheep and gets fired from his job because he labels his encounter with the said animal to be "spiritual communion" and when he's asked about the experience, he describes the scenario as "there was a sheep inside of me" and when he's asked to explain, he tells the interviewer that "further explanation is impossible." as if things couldn't turn further, he spirals into madness, locks himself in his son's hotel, refuses to see his child and gets the nickname "The Sheep Professor" because he's been obsessing over the sheep that possessed him.
a wild sheep chase indeed
if you get past the insufferably dull moments, magical ear fetish, ludicrous comments about sex and the slight nudge to anti-feminism, the book can be good.
my second favorite part of the book is when an old man gets accused of engaging in sexual relations with sheep and gets fired from his job because he labels his encounter with the said animal to be "spiritual communion" and when he's asked about the experience, he describes the scenario as "there was a sheep inside of me" and when he's asked to explain, he tells the interviewer that "further explanation is impossible." as if things couldn't turn further, he spirals into madness, locks himself in his son's hotel, refuses to see his child and gets the nickname "The Sheep Professor" because he's been obsessing over the sheep that possessed him.
a wild sheep chase indeed
Content Warnings
you can tell that the women were written by a man . be warned
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Murakami's way with words is, as always, unparalleled but this book just really missed the mark for me. First off I thought there were too many weird confessional stories thrown into the novel, it diluted the story and caused the book as a whole to lack cohesion. Another problem was I really didn't care for any of the characters, the narrator (for all his mediocrity) was patently unlikable in nearly every respect. And the whole sheep as spiritual parasite concept was just goofy. It seems like the further back I dig into Murakami's catalog, the less I care for his work. In this book are seeds of greatness, but I didn't feel like this title delivered like Murakami's later books.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my introduction to magical realism and Japanese literature. I did not know what to expect, but I'm indifferent.