Blog Post 1 - Comments on Murakami's Writing

 Aside from The Strange Library, A Wild Sheep Chase is the only Murakami book that I have finished (started but never finished Kafka on the Shore). Despite not having much experience with Murakami’s writing going into this class, I already had an idea of which parts of his writing I liked and which parts I disliked. After reading A Wild Sheep Chase, I’m able to better pinpoint these parts. 

Starting with what I liked, I appreciated his use of metaphors and similes, something inspired by hard-boiled style. They painted a picture in my mind and drew me into the story. One simile I liked was at the beginning of Ch. 34: “Loneliness wasn’t such a bad feeling. It was like the stillness of the pin oak after the little birds had flown off.” Another element borrowed from hard-boiled style I liked was the full action descriptions. Instead of simply having Boku make coffee, Murakami would provide a play-by-play of every step in the coffee-making process. 

While I appreciate Murakami’s descriptive style and magical language, I think sometimes he gets a little too weird or abstract for my taste. For example, I don’t really understand the purpose of including the section about Boku's girlfriend's ears. I also find that the conversations between characters can be aimless or nonsensical. A lot of times throughout the book, I found myself a bit confused, questioning “Why???”. I feel like I had these little ?? moments almost every chapter, and they ended up distancing me from the story. Also, Murakami writes in a style of detachment that I don’t appreciate either. Instead of making a connection with the characters and the story, I feel like I never fully engage with the book. I’m curious to see how I enjoy Norwegian Wood since I’ve heard it’s supposed to be a bit more straightforward than his other books. 

-Kara Beigh

Blog Post #1 - A favorite already?

 Hi all, 

After finishing Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase, as well as five of his short stories, I finally feel semi-qualified enough to pick a favorite. I know perhaps comparing a short story to a novel is like apples to oranges, so I hope not to offend anyone with my choice. Of the Murakami I've read so far, I have enjoyed "The Last Lawn of the Afternoon" the most.

To explain my choice of favorite from among the six Murakami texts we've read in class so far, I call upon this version of Boku's relatability. I feel as if the 19 year old university student who simply wants to do his best is among the most relatable versions of the loveably aloof protagonist I've encountered in Murakami so far. Murakami's other versions of Boku I've encountered thus far have all retained an air of cynicism, but it feels as if this version does not have the same overtly negative outlook on life (yet?). Perhaps it is the heartbreak he experiences during this short story that will lead to the development of his cynicism further to match that of the other Boku's of Murakami's works, however I believe him to be a special case. 

I think that this version of Boku is the most similar to Murakami as a person. It is a bold claim, especially given the fact that Murakami has stated he wishes to remain separate from his protagonists, however I feel as if this Boku's belief towards producing good work he can be proud of is something that Murakami aligns with very much himself.

- Sam Soares

Blog Post #1 - Cassandra

 For my first Murakami novel, I was not impressed. 

In all honesty, I was not fond of A Wild Sheep Chase. I found it to be unengaging, and quite frankly boring. I struggled to be interested with the narrative, many of individual characters, and the overall direction of where the narrative was going. 

Yes, this novel is unusual, but that should not be its downfall. Oftentimes, when reading this novel, I found myself questioning many of the plot points. Why is the Rat central to the story? Is the translational debate of the Rat and the Mouse really that important? Why does the protagonist seem to have a kinship to the Rat? If the protagonist is 'going with the flow of life,' then why is he susceptible to blackmail? What is up the hyperfixation of body parts (e.g. the girlfriend's ear or the whale's penis)? Why is the sheep important? Is the lore of the sheep original? What is the point of this? 

Whilst reading this novel, I was often curious on how Murakami implemented his influences into his writing. Sure, I could see how certain plot points and things were similar to what happened in The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler, but it did not really connect in my head. To me, the only instances of Westernization is when Murakami mentions 'Western' things like films, musicians, books, etc. All this talk of influences have stirred up a central question in my head: Why is 'Western' literature seen as a source of inspiration, something that others, especially 'foreign' authors, should draw inspiration from or emulate? 

- Cassandra Berrette 

A Wild Sheep Chase: What A Fun Read- Krisha Madhav

 As my first Murakami book, A Wild Sheep Chase was extremely enjoyable. It had a slow start for me in my opinion but it developed quickly and had a satisfying conclusion to its strange story. In particular, the way Murakami handles the loss of friendship as a melancholy goodbye was amazing, as it felt both too brief and yet long enough to be meaningful. In a way it felt very Chandleresque, Terry's goodbye was also brief but powerful. As a text with elements of The Long Goodbye, it captured everything I loved about Chandler's novel and added really cool aspects of folklore and surrealism.

I am curious about how A Wild Sheep Chase connects or interacts with the detective style short stories Murakami wrote. "Sydney, Green Street" feel like attempts at getting the detective style down, and references both the Sheep Man and the Sheep Professor. Are these meant to be related to the narrative and characters from the novel, a potential precursor story, or something completely new with similar ideas? The short story certainly doesn't cover the full depth of ideas as the novel but the ideas it does explore (wealth, expectations, purpose of self) is just as fascinating. Plus, the description of Green Street had an enjoyable Chandler cynicism to it, in contrast to the disorientating and surreal streets of Hokkaido. Speaking of surreal, "Where I'm Likely to Find It" just cements in my mind that mirrors are magic in Murakami's work. This is the third story where mirrors are gateways (portals?) to the surreal and bizarre and I am fascinated to see in which other works mirrors pop up in.  

Blog Post 1 - Viv Johnson

Now that we have a better idea of Murakami, his literary inspirations, and his style I can't seem to get a grasp on what I should take away from these novels. A Wild Sheep Chase bounces between themes of capitalism, colonialism, identity, magical realism, mystery, boredom, suicide, wasted marriages, friendship, alcoholism, and so so so many more. Does anyone else get so overwhelmed with the scope of ideas that they can't seem to point to what it all means? Or does that defeat the purpose? Often, when I read something new, I try to walk away having understood what the author was trying to convey or the main idea. If I tried to do that with A Wild Sheep Chase, I could make the case that it's about "coming to terms with the loss of a friend" but then there are so many other threads I could follow.

Murakami creates these entertaining, bizarre, and complex stories filled with allusions to history, art, politics, and literature, and I walk away wondering what the hell I just read. What strategies do you use to map out other Murakami stories? Are they meant to be understood or is the perplexing nature of the stories what makes them good? Maybe their power comes from their ability to baffle us while still making us care about the story and its characters, who knows? 

BONUS: Okay, this is completely off-topic from what I wrote above and I don't know Japanese but I've been listening to The Blue Hearts song "リンダ リンダ" (Linda Linda) and the first line is: "ドブネズミみたいに美しくなりたい" my questions is: rat or mouse?

Blog Post 1 - Alex DeRosa

  Wild Sheep Chase was the first Murakami book I’ve ever read. Going into it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect—I had heard things about his surreal writing style and abstract themes but didn’t know much more. I really enjoyed this book. By the end of it, I felt very attached to the characters, like Boku, The Rat, Sheepman, and the girlfriend. I found myself growing very sad when it is revealed that The Rat is dead, and he has his last conversation with Boku. 

    One thing I found interesting was Murakami’s way of writing. Murakami’s style is straightforward while also being ambiguous—he states things directly, even if those things are bizarre. He doesn’t overexplain or try to make things make perfect sense, which I really appreciate. I find that when authors try to explain their surrealism too much, it detracts from the altered and strange feeling that it’s supposed to convey. Murakami’s characters also mostly accept these strange, otherworldly occurrences as nothing too unusual, which I think really adds to the immersion. For instance, when the Sheepman is first introduced, Boku simply says “At 2 o’clock the Sheep Man came,” (293) and he immediately invites him in without questioning who he is, why he is wearing a sheep costume, etc. These characters exist in the universe that Murakami created, and it’s one that’s not quite normal. I think this adds to the overall surreal effect. 

    Overall, I liked this book a lot, and I had a hard time putting it down towards the end. I'm curious to see how Norwegian Wood will be similar/different in terms of style. 

Intertextuality Discussion - Alanis

 Hi all, 

Welcome to the discussion post on Intertextuality. Here, I took some quotes from the reading and had some discussion questions associated with them that I thought were interesting and I was thinking of these while I read. Feel free to respond here if your answer doesn't get said in class. Obviously there is no right or wrong answer, just say how you feel! 

“To communicate we must utilize existing concepts and conventions”

• Discuss: Today, we sometimes see new concepts and phrases being used to communicate meaning, such as the creation of memes and the expansion of slang terms. Is this quote still true, or can we see communication happen using new concepts and conventions? If it is true, to what extent do you see it being applicable/true today?

“This rather extreme but important example thus serves to highlight that every reading is always a rewriting.”

• Discuss: Do you agree or disagree with this statement? When you think about reading and writing yourself and your essays, do you think of it as rearranging words that have already been written? Is originality just an abstract concept, as the text on Intertextuality suggests? 

“The notion of intertextuality problematizes the idea of a text having boundaries and questions the dichotomy of 'inside' and 'outside': where does a text 'begin' and 'end'? What is 'text' and what is 'context'?”

• Discuss: Are there any reasonable examples of texts or works that you know that don’t relate to anything else that you know of immediately? Can a piece of literature stand on its own or is it constrained by relationship to other texts and ideas? Is it a constraint to know that one’s text has to relate to something else?

“Would the 'most intertextual' text be an indistinguishable copy of another text, or would that have gone beyond what it means to be intertextual? Would the 'most intratextual' text be one which approached the impossible goal of referring only to itself?”

• Discuss: Can plagiarism be considered “intertextuality”? Is there power in being a text connected to the world in some way, or would it be better if we could somehow make an intratextual world where somehow, nothing is really connected? Is there power in seeing an advertisement without words and being able to know most of the context without needing it read or spelled out?