A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

The Wild Sheep Chase sits in a weird place in my mind and is probably a mix of cultural disconnection and general confusion. One of the most frustrating aspects of this work is that there are references that are being made that I don’t fully understand. In other words, while reading I feel the emphasis on certain aspects of the work whether it ears, cats, sheep, or cigarettes and I feel that there is some cultural/deeper meaning occurring which is going over my head. Even with this I was still able to follow the work and received a lot of enjoyment out of it, and this is probably most intensified by my cultural disconnection. After the class discussion, there was a somewhat better understanding of different motifs and themes in Japanese works especially in the discussion of other works in the genre of Japanese horror. This has been the first time that I have had such a relationship with a work of consumed, it seems that it is just the fact that I’ve rarely explored eastern literature. Knowing this now I will begin to read into and attempt to break through some of my personal conventions coming from a western perspective. Structurally and theme-wise you can see the difference between Japanese works and traditional gothic motifs. There seems to be more emphasis on the abstraction of motives in Japanese horror, whereas in western gothic It felt pretty cut and dry what was occurring (black and white). After coming to this realization though I had to ask myself was this abstract just a byproduct of my disconnection with the eastern cultural themes. Possibly. While confusing and frustrating at times I will be reading this work again to attempt to gain a full appreciation for such literature and to hopefully open myself up to more Japanese/eastern pieces.