Chasing Sheep

 A Wild Sheep Chase (6 Points)

Haruki Murakami's novel was a very strange reading for me and unlike anything I'd ever read before. Whether that's a good or bad thing is very much up for debate, but I will say I'm glad I read it nonetheless. Truth be told, I'm not sure I was able to glean much satisfaction from reading the book at all and found much of the dialogue and descriptions of the settings and events very hollow and empty. Of course, it also did feel very intentional in terms of the writing, and I understood the book a bit more after our discussion in class. 

Concepts such as a "hollow person," the loss of self-identity, and isolation were all very prevalent concepts in this book, and I feel like much of my discomfort with the novel was that it reflected on a fear that is much more realistic and existential than I had ever anticipated from the reading. Not many people like to dwell on the meaning of their lives or realized just how lonely they might be, much less read an entire story based on said concepts. In a way, the book felt very depressingly reflective where you not only felt the dull emptiness and depressing mood yourself but also had to examine your own identity and ponder your purpose in the world. 

On the note of "hollow people," I also expressed my difficulties connecting to the main character due to the frustrating fact that he was gutted of any personal ideals or characters that more common protagonists had. I mentioned that trying to read the novel was like trying to climb a wall of sand, and it was both exhausting and unfulfilling as it didn't really feel like I had gained anything other than considering my depression a little more than I had before I read it. It felt like a novel that took away concepts from you rather than a novel that gives you new things to think of, and I had never really experienced that in a fiction world before. After we discuss it's autobiographical nature as well, that also explained how some of the scenarios seem to feel very personal but also incredibly empty.

Throughout the reading though, I definitely realized just how acclimated to western horror story conventions that I had become accustomed to as I patiently waited for concepts of spirits or the conflicts of good and evil to emerge. When they never came about half-way through the book, I felt less and less inclined to continue my readings when it felt like there was no conflict or pay off to me. 

In conclusion, I'm happy to have been able to reflect on the book as well as myself to some degree and examine the differences between western and eastern storytelling. I hope to keep diversifying my tastes in the future and want to branch out with some other readings from Asian cultures to get a better understanding of their literary style.