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     A Wild Sheep Chase is quintessential Murakami. Having encountered his writing- and the voice of his nameless protagonists, Boku- in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, returning to Murakami's literary world felt like visiting an old pal. That familiarity is what initially drew me into Sheep Chase, and kept me helplessly engaged as each knot came undone in this tangled rope of a novel. Without even realizing it, I had become oddly attached to Boku and his girlfriend as they trekked the Japanese archipelago. Each mention of The Rat had me feeling as if I, too, had known this elusive character for years. So much so that upon the climax of the novel, when Boku and The Rat gave each other a final farewell, I found myself strangely emotional. The same feelings came about upon Boku's girlfriend's disappearance.

    Murakami has a way of writing Boku where certain things mentioned seem superfluous. It seems almost as if we, the readers, are watching a man ramble on a tangent, thoughtlessly. Yet, in that same vein, it also connects us to Boku in a way I have yet to be by any other literary protagonist. Despite being set in a world in which the bizarre is abound, the internal monologue of Boku provides a sense of groundedness. And in A Wild Sheep Chase, the groundedness of Boku coupled with the recurring motif of time serves to suck the reader into the novel's world effortlessly. The passage of time is palpable and the reader, too, can feel Boku's world progressing around him like set pieces being hurried on and off the stage.

I really enjoyed it!!!!!!!!! :)

-Evan Laufman