A Wild Sheep Chase

I really enjoyed reading A Wild Sheep Chase by Haurki Murakami. I found the slow pacing a good way to build up the tension and curiosity at the end of the book. Murakami is really good at building a story with what would seem daily life events with a bit of the weird. He is I would say eastern in that sense, using the day to day to build up a very slow build to the climax that really isn’t as epic as most western literature. But he is western in a sense with his characters. His main character is relatable and we get to get inside his head, he is kind like an everyday Joe. His characters have something and I can’t really put my finger on it that makes them feel American. They aren’t really uptight there isn’t a feel of reservation. I’m not really sure but his characters, I guess they just don’t feel Japanese. 

Now there were some points in the reading and this is just an opinion where I at times got confused with some of the dialogue. I felt that at times his characters didn’t have a distinctive voice. It wasn’t bad it was good dialogue it just if you held up a piece of the dialogue I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you who was talking. But in my head I compare everyone’s dialogue to Elmore Leonard, which isn’t fair really. But I would say that was my only technical hang up. I get pretty picky when it comes to dialogue. I really did like the overall pacing of the book, I think some people would find it slow and not really getting to the point. But I don’t think he was looking for an all encompassing point or answer. I think the whole point is to enjoy the mystery; it really makes you think. I think it is also one of those books you just have to reread. There are points in the book where I didn’t catch a clue or a string that lead to an answer, not all the dots got connected. I really look forward to rereading this book again, its like a cold case file. You always find something new.