Forse accade a molti di sperimentar, in un momento qualsiasi della loro vita, uno spasmodico desiderio di potere, di successo, di esser altro, di abbandonar i panni sino a quel momento indossati e trasformarsi in qualcosa di meraviglioso. Ma è solo un'illusione di breve durata e che, a seguire, getta chi l'ha accolta nel più cupo sconforto. Solo chi ha la forza di rimaner se stesso e non cedere alle lusinghe di tali, facili risultati, può infine sperar di viver la propria vita con fierezza e compiacimento. Senza rimorsi o rimpianti.

- Venga Mr. Quimby, si accomodi... allora siamo d'accordo, solo poche domande, così finiamo presto.
- Già, sarà meglio.
- È comodo?
- È questa la prima domanda?
- Eh? No, no, mi chiedevo se era a suo agio, così iniziamo.
- Hai delle noccioline?
- Seymour, porta degli stuzzichini per Mr. Quimby.
- Ho detto noccioline.
- Hai sentito Seymour? solo noccioline.
- Bene Mr. Quimby, parto con la prima domanda.
- Vediamo di darci una mossa.
- Ehm, certo... Allora, sappiamo che ha letto Nel segno della pecora di Murakami, le è piaciuto?
- Quando arrivano le noccioline?
- Seymour, stiamo ancora aspettando quelle noccioline... Seymour!
- Arrivano signore, arrivano!
- Ecco a lei Mr. Quimby... ora torniamo al romanzo di Murakami...
- Quello con la pecora, giusto? crunch, crunch...
- Sì, abbiamo visto le cinque stelline, ma ancora non ha rilasciato alcuna dichiarazione, ci stavamo chiedendo il perché, è passato già quasi un mese ormai.
- crunch, crunch... nessun mistero, è che sono pigro.
- Eh, capisco Mr. Quimby, capisco, lei vuol suggerirci che è in cerca dell'ispirazione giusta, del resto è un autore che a lei piace molto, è normale che...
- Non ho voglia di fare un cazzo.
- ...Prego?
- Non ho voglia di fare un cazzo e sono qui solo perché... crunch, crunch... mi avete detto che mi avreste pagato per rispondere a certe domande... crunch. Sono finite le noccioline.
- Seymour, porta altre noccioline per Mr. Quimby.
- D'accordo Mr. Quimby. Ci dica almeno se considera il romanzo al livello dei migliori, come L'uccello che girava le viti del mondo, ad esempio...
- Per risponderti ho bisogno di quelle noccioline...
- Seymour, vedi di portarle tutte. A Mr. Quimby piacciono molto.
- ...e anche un paio di birre, m'è venuta sete.
- Hai sentito Seymour? due birre... ha delle preferenze Mr. Quimby?
- Staropramen.
- Seymour, abbiamo due Staropramen per Mr. Quimby?
- Uh... temo di no signore, forse riesco a rimediare due Pilsner Urquell.
- Mr. Quimby...?
- D'accordo, fanne portare tre, già che ci sei.
- Ho sentito signore, ne vuole tre.
- Bravo Seymour... nell'attesa Mr. Quimby, vuole anticiparci se ritiene Nel segno della pecora adatto al lettore che voglia avvicinarsi per la prima volta all'opera dello scrittore giapponese?
- Ecco le noccioline e le birre, signori.
- ...Ahh, crunch, crunch... 'adatto', dici? Fa schifo come parola... 'adatto' fa proprio schifo, non la userei mai.
- ...o non pensa piuttosto che possa essere apprezzato maggiormente dai fedelissimi, i lettori avvezzi al mondo letterario di Murakami, che già dispongono degli strumenti necessari per decodificare le sue opere...?
- 'avvezzi' fa ancora più schifo... crunch, crunch... 'avvezzi', 'decodefecare'... come cazzo parli?
- Insomma, Mr. Quimby, vuol dirci qualcosa sullo stile, i contenuti magari...?
- crunch, crunch... c'è questa ragazza dalle orecchie bellissime...
- Già, è uno dei personaggi più interessanti, ha dei poteri soprannaturali... vada avanti Mr. Quimby.
- crunch, crunch... e c'è questa pecora aliena o una roba del genere...
- ...che invasa i corpi di uomini chiave per dei loschi fini di conquista del mondo... ecco, su questo aspetto, non crede che magari...
- Ne avrei fatto degli arrosticini...
- Prego?
- ...della pecora, intendo... crunch, crunch...
- ...
- Mr. Quimby, c'è qualcos'altro che vuole aggiungere?
- Buurp! Mi stai annoiando.
- Bene, direi che con questo è tutto, la ringraziamo Mr. Quimby... Seymour, vuoi essere così cortese da indicare a Mr. Quimby la porta della toilette? Credo ne abbia urgente bisogno...

I absolutely love Murakami and I have almost completed reading his catalogue. He has stated that one reason he enjoys writing short stories is that often a novel may spring from one. A Wild Sheep Chase is a full length novel and my favorite of The Rat trilogy. Having just listened to Killing Commendatore on audible (I had read the book when it was released), I released how topics explored in A Wild Sheep Chase were fully developed in Killing Commendatore.

First things first. If you are not a fan of magical realism, Murakami may not be for you. I am a huge fan of magical realism and, in my opinion, Murakami is one of the best in the genre. Murakami explores many of the same topics in his books and they have similar aspects. You will get the expected cat, cooking, books, and LPs (records). I love reading about these things and enjoyed their use in this book.

Some similarities between Killing Commendatore and A Wild Sheep Chase is the main character (a man) being "stuck" in a current situation (a twenty-something figuring out life after a divorce). Both travel/wander across Japan and end up in very remote areas. Both have new girlfriends that impact and drive the story. You get a little military history (which I enjoy) and character's experiences during the war have had a profound and lasting effect on them. He explores dreams, time, and reality. Best of all, both main characters encounter an "otherworldly" character that is quite memorable.

If you are interested in these topics, magical realism, Japanese literature, or seeing what Murakami is all about, this a good starting point. A Wild Sheep Chase is a great book to experience where the magic of Murakami begins.

Was this a good book?

Hell yes

Was this Murakami's best?

No, but he does hold high standards for himself.

Did I enjoy it?

Absolutely

Was I confused since I read the third in this series first?

Definitely, but it's Murakami so it might have been more confusing had I known the backstories.

Do I remember any of the plot?

Nope.

Was the man dressed as a sheep/sheep man scary?

Yeeep.

Would I recommend this book?

Definitely. I loved it. Can't remember why, or how, but it was good. 11/10 would read again.



2021 edit: The full backstory behind this review is that I had been a sleep-deprived university student reading books from the library in a study cubicle instead of studying. Maybe it was my monkey brain at the time, but I genuinely don't know how much I would enjoy this now.
Courtesy of Jen's mini reviews

My first buddy reads with the awesome reading partner - Caro ;)
Kokia keista, išgalvota Avies pavidalo istorija, paskaninta netikėtomis detalėmis. Net nežinau kokiam žanrui reikėtų šią knygą priskirti. Gal tai detektyvas? O gal tai absurdiškam realizmui artima magiška sakmė? Ar visgi tai kelionė į savęs pažinimą? Gal tai gali būti net gi meilės istorija ar istorijos (tik nežinia meilė labiau kam, ar merginai ar aviai :))
Ko tik šioje knygoje nėra. Čia galima rasti indėniškų susitapatinimų su gyvūnu, vidinių kovų ieškant savęs, neįtikėtini dalykai čia pateikiami tai paprastai ir kasdieniškai, kad noriu-nenoriu šią knygą pradedu laikyti magišku realizmu :D
Visa istorija prasideda labai realiai ir jau pažįstamu, Murakamišku stiliumi: Pagr. veikėjas gyvena savo nuobodų, pilką gyvenimą, atsigauna pamažu po emocinių išgyvenimų. Ir voila, staiga į sceną "įžengia" stebuklingos ausys (prašome išsirinkti pagal savo norus/fantazijas/poreikius :D)

Žodžiu ;)

o dar paslaptingas, šalto žvilgsnio ala gangsteris, suteikiantis istorijai trilerio prieskonį ir supažindinantis su šios knygos ašimi - avyte, sorry, super avimi!

Ir štai prasideda intensyvi avies medžioklė!
Ši medžioklė simbolizuoja daug ką, visų pirma tai savo tikrojo kelio paieškos, meilės išbandymas, išlikimo pamoka, brangaus draugo suradimas, gyvenimo beprotybė. Kiekvienas mes ieškome savo avies ;)
Aplamai ši knyga yra perpildyta avimis:
žmogus avis

profesorius avis

ir žinoma paprastos avytės laukuose
(beje gal čia slepiasi ir jūsų gyvenimo avis? Sėkmės paieškose!)
Ši knyga siūlo jau pažįstamą (iš kitų H. Murakamio knygų) išsivadavimą iš pilko gyvenimo pančių per kelionę ieškant mistiško dalyko - savo Šventojo Gralio. Bet kaip visada - tikri stebuklai slypi ten kur viskas paprasta - ogi Avyje ;D Netgi pagrindinis veikėjas šiek tiek panašus į avį - jis pasyvus stebėtojas, vengiantis permainų. Jo pasikeitimas vyksta pamažu ir kai jau Gyvenimo avis yra tiesiog ranka pasiekiama - viskas pasisuka 360 laipsnių kampu.
H. Murakamis yra tobulas varovas šioje stulbinančioje, laukinėje avies medžioklėje.

I wish I could have written about Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase here when I'd read it. I wish that goodreads was around back then. The magical and plain old world as we know it life through best teacher voice (this is my favorite kind of voice because I'm a confused person) that made the every day seem full of possibilities. Sinister possibilities as well as good ones. That's my favorite kind of thing, the ability to make that stuff interesting, with easy humor. I'm really into the build-up of the little things. Just something worth living and writing about, mental connections and wave lengths. I dug the off-kilter off the map stuff not as (sur)reality, but a new voice in my head. It's not hard to relate to being confused about the future. Murakami has written some of my favorite narrarators I've ever read, the kinds of guys that remind me of best friends (or friends I would have, if I ever met people like that). Like from a line in one of his books [probably Norwegian Wood D'oh it was Sputnik Sweetheart! My memory picks the most inconvenient times to correct my gr reviews (such as when I'm trying to sleep).] about having a friend you could call up at three in the morning and talk about anything.

I can't remember everything I thought about it (it must be time for a reread), but I remember very well that elusive things almost making sense and being restless 'cause I couldn't feel like that all of the time. There's something about Haruki Murakami that makes me want to just go somewhere. Those are the strong feelings in my memory gut, and why I'd not hesitate to name A Wild Sheep chase as one of my favorite books. It made me feel something outside of the book, a moving for something...

The sequel Dance, Dance, Dance was not as good to me as A Wild Sheep Chase. What I felt I was almost getting was nowhere to be found (I'll have to review this one sometime because I had a lot of nagging thoughts about the so-called fantasy life of prostitutes. Murakami's later work After Dark is not so short sighted). The prequel Hear the Wind Sing I had to buy from ebay in early '00s. I felt most keenly a longing for something more than really being moved. I really wanted to go somewhere, I recall. Curse my fleeting memory and confused inner voice.

My twin and I sent our brother a post card of a sheep with a drawn on black star on its butt. He devoured every Murakami he could get his hands on. It's too bad I can't send goodreaders sheep postcards.

Svaki put kad čitam Murakamija imam osjećaj da sanjam neki ludi san iako su njegove knjige i puno više od toga. Osjećaj samoće koji dominira ovom knjigom, pojedinac koji ne zna kamo pripada u svijetu i njegova potraga za smislom. Prekrasna mješavina tuge, izdvojenosti i traganja .

İlk olarak şunu söylemek istiyorum. Bu kitabı okuduktan sonra kitap forumlarında vb. yerlerde, birçok "Japonya hakkında fikir sahibi olmak amacı ile okuduğum..."gibi yorumlar okudum. Böyle bir şey öncelikle çok yanlış. Bu kitapla, sadece bu değil bu değil bütün Murakami kitapları ile Japonya, Japon Kültürü ve Japonlar hakkında sağlıklı bilgi edinemezsiniz. H.Murakami yazdıkları Japonya ile iliştirilebilecek son Japon yazar. Tanizaki, Mişima, Dazai, Agutagava, Kavabata vb. yazarlar okuyarak gerçek Japon Edebiyatı ile tanışabilirsiniz.

Bunu geçersem eğer Yaban Koyununun İzinde, en rahat okunan Murakami kitaplarından bir tanesi ve bence başlangıç için en uygun olanı. Çünkü yazarın edebiyatına hakim olan anlatım ve öğeler bu kitapta eşit düzeyde yayılmış bulunmakta. Murakami, normalde asla olmasına ihtimal vermeyeceğimiz şeyleri genel gerçekçilik içinde bir imge karmaşası içinde kullanan bir yazar. Bu yüzden hikayeleri anlamlandırmanın bir yararı yok. Ancak imgelerle üzerine düşünebileceğiniz bir harita sunuyor. Açıkçası bu karmaşık ve absürd hatta fazla hayalci imgelemler beni "Zemberekkuşu'nun Güncesi"nde çok yormuştu. O kadar uzun bir eser boyunca bitmek bilmeyen bir anlamsızlık furyası bir heveste okuma isteği olanlar için bilhassa, zorluk yaratıyor. Bu kitapta da aynı durum var. Ancak bu kez hem romanın daha kısa olması hem de olayın "birlik" taşıması durumu kolaylaştırıyor. Yan öyküler fazla ayrıntılı kurulmadığından zihin dağılmıyor.

Yine her romanında olduğu gibi bu romanın içinden de müzik geçiyor. Müzik belli bir amaç taşımadan, tamamen yazarın beğenileri doğrultusunda her zaman romanlarda kendine yer buluyor. Sizde eğer jazz, blues, klasik batı müziği ve klasik rock ile ilgili iseniz romandaki atmosferleri kafada yaratmanız daha kolay oluyor.

Benim takıldığım başka bir konu daha var. Bazı yazarlar diyalog yazma ile romanlarını yürütürler. Karakterlerin konuşmaları kitabı ileriye taşır. Salinger, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Hardy, Mo Yan, Palahniuk gibi bazı isimler farklı dönemlerde, farklı stillerde yazmış olsalar bile en iyi becerdikleri şey diyalog ile hikaye ilerletmeleridir. Ben Murakami'de de böyle bir sevda görüyorum. Ancak o kadar postmodern konuşmalar yazıyor ki, konuşmalar bir bütünlük taşıyamıyorlar. Sürekli olarak insan Murakami'nin ne denli geniş bir hayalgücü olduğunu idrak ediyor. Aklına ket vurmamış ve ucu nereye giderse, aklı nasıl bir çağrışım yaparsa yazmış gibi hissettiriyor. Elbette başarılı olduğu noktalar yok değil benim açımdan ama yorucu, bazı zamanlarda da itici olduğunu düşünüyorum.

Bu romanda da, H.Murakami romanlarının çoğunda da o an okurken aldığınız verim esas. Sonrasında çok fazla kalmıyor. İnsanın beyni bu denli çarpışık, düzensiz, dağınık görsel/işitsel/metaforik imgeleri, puzzle misali kurabilmek ve yeniden tanımlayıp anlandırmak açısından yeterli değil. Eğer yazarın bir matematiği varsa bu çok ileri düzey bir şey olmalı diye düşünüyorum.

Onun dışında ne desem boş, Murakami ne kefil olup okuyun diyebileceğim bir yazar, ne de asla okumayın diyip kendimce lanetleyebileceğim bir yazar. Okuyorum işte... Arada düşünüyorum, bazı taşları yerine oturtmaya çalışıyorum, sonra dönüp kitap bitince cevapsız kalan soruların arkasından bakıyorum vs. En iyisi okuyup kendinizin karar vermesi. Bu kitap yazarın sihirli gerçekçilik dünyasının kapısını en isabetli ve dozajlı açtığı romanlarından biri bence. O yüzden önceliği buna verebilirsiniz gibi geliyor.

İyi okumalar.

"แต่ก่อนอื่น ขอแ_กเบียร์อีกกระป๋อง" ประโยคติดปากของมุสิก หนุ่มเศรษฐี เพื่อนสนิท "ผม"

ใครจะจินตนาการถึง ว่าไตรภาคมุสิก ที่เริ่มด้วยดราม่าชีวิตของ "ผม" สามัญชน คนธรรมดา กับ "มุสิก" หนุ่มลูกเศรษฐีเพื่อนสนิท จะจบลงด้วยแฟนตาซี จินตนาการสุดล้ำ
"แกะรอย แกะดาว" หนังสือเล่มที่สาม ของไตรภาคมุสิก (The rat) เป็นเรื่องของ "ผม" ตัวละครหลัก ชายหนุ่มในภาคแรก ที่เจริญเติบใหญ่ ที่เหมือนจะได้ดิบได้ดีในหน้าที่การงาน แต่กลับต้องเผชิญวิกฤติวัยกลางคน เมียขอหย่า หุ้นส่วนติดเหล้า แถมยังถูกคนแปลกหน้าข่มขู่ให้แกะรอย แกะดาวซะอีก

เนื้อเรื่องส่วนแรก เล่าชีวิตของ "ผม" ซึ่งดำเนินเรื่องได้อึมครึมสมราคามูราคามิ โดยที่ "มุสิก" หนุ่มเศรษฐีสุดแนว ปรากฎมาให้เห็นเป็นระยะๆ แถมยังเจอวิกฤติอัตลักษณ์อีกเช่นกัน
เนื้อเรื่องของมูราคามิ ยังคงสะท้อนความหลากหลายของสังคมญี่ปุ่นได้ครบครันเช่นเคย ทั้งพนักงานบริษัทวัยกลางคนสุดแสนสามัญ, ภรรยาผู้หมดรัก ที่จากไปอยู่กับเพื่อนเก่า, สาวรุ่นที่มีอาชีพหญิงบริการ ไปจนถึงสามตัวละครที่มีความสัมพันธ์ และความสำคัญ ที่มาจากภาคแรกอย่าง "ผม" "มุสิก" และ "เจ"
คนอย่าง "ผม" แม้จะหาได้ไม่ดาษดื่นในสังคม แต่มูราคามิ นำมาเล่าให้ "ผม" มีเอกลักษณ์โดดเด่นจนลุ้น และมีอารมณ์ร่วมไปได้อย่างดี

เนื้อเรื่องส่วนหลัง กลับกลายเป็นส่วนของการผจญภัย "แกะรอย แกะดาว" ตามหาสิ่งเพ้อฝันที่ดูเหมือนจะไม่มีทางมีอยู่ได้จริง ตะลุยไปในพื้นที่สุดกันดาร ที่คนปกติคงไม่มีใครคิดจะไป
แต่ก็เป็นส่วนหลังของเรื่องนี่แหละ ที่บังคับให้พลิกหน้าต่อหน้าจนจบเล่ม
นี่เป็นยุคแรกๆ ของแฟนตาซีมูราคามิสินะ

เป็นอีกเล่มของมูราคามิที่อ่านไม่ยาก และนพดล เวชสวัสดิ์ แปลได้ยอดเยี่ยม เล่าเป็นสำนวนที่เป็นเอกลักษณ์อย่างยิ่ง
แม้จะไม่ได้อ่าน "สดับลมขับขาน" กับ "พินบอล, 1973" มาก่อน ก็สามารถอ่านได้ แต่ถ้าอ่านสองเล่มข้างต้นมาก่อน จะได้อินไปกับไตรภาคนี้ยิ่งขึ้นไปอีก เพราะได้เห็นตัวละครตั้งแต่วันรุ่น จนเข้าสู่วัยกลางคน เหมือนได้ผจญชีวิตมาด้วยกัน

The third novel in the Trilogy of the Rat sees our unnamed narrator go on his most ambitious and frenzied journey yet. Boiling the deranged plot down to its simplest terms, it is about a man trying to find a sheep.

A Wild Sheep Chase is something of a love letter to Thomas Pynchon, or at least that's how I read it. The plot is quite similar to that of The Crying of Lot 49 (an ordinary person accidentally stumbles upon a very dark secret, they see the same mysterious symbol everywhere, there's a cast of truly strange characters, nothing really makes sense) but it's a much breezier and lighter tale. It's not a novel I'd call particularity deep, but it's a lot of fun.

Deși la prima vedere pare o lectură ciudățică, totuși acest roman conține o idee filozofică profundă. Murakami aduce aici răspunsuri la veșnicile întrebări hamletiene. Această căutare a oii fantastice este de fapt căutarea sensului vieții sau a sinelui.

Cu o meticulozitate deosebită autorul despică în patru natura umană, substraturile ei. Accentul este pus aici pe emoții și sentimente. Abia după ce termini cartea realizezi că nu cunoști nimic despre aspectul fizic al personajului central, nici măcar nu are un nume; în schimb îi cunoști atât de bine latura emoțională. Ajungi chiar la un moment dat să te autodescoperi în figura naratorului central.

✍️“E straniu să-ți privești propria viață ca pe viața altcuiva. Aproape că îți vine să crezi că un asemenea individ nu există.”

Unul din mesajele centrale ale romanului este: apreciază ceea ce ai!

✍️“Orice om mai are întotdeauna câteva lucruri de pierdut... Din păcate, oamenii devin conștienți de existența lui decât după ce l-a pierdut.”

Iar deznodământul vine să ne convingă de faptul că asemeni animalelor care se lăsă conduse de instincte, la fel și noi oamenii ne lăsăm conduși de către propriile slăbiciuni.

✍️“Slăbiciunea ne roade pe dinăuntru, ca o cangrenă... În fine, așa e slăbiciunea umană, ca o boală ereditară. Chiar dacă ești conștient de ea, nu-ți stă în putere să te vindeci. Și nici nu dispare cat ai bate din palme, și se înrăutățește pe măsură ce trece timpul.”

✍️“Mediocritatea a început atunci când omenirea a separat mijloacele de producție de viața de zi cu zi.”

✍️“Noi, oamenii, putem să trecem după bunul plac pe tărâmurile întâmplării, ca niște semințe purtate pe aripile vântului de primăvară.”

This is a surreal, inventive, darkly funny, totally absorbing, completely original fever dream of a novel. I’m not sure it all comes together in the end, but Murakami writes with such incredible confidence, precision, and dark wit, that I was never less than enthralled. I understand why he’s such a celebrated and popular writer: he has style to burn, but I never felt like he fell into a trap of style over substance; he brings a subtle depth of feeling for his characters, and an abiding concern about the existential crisis we all face as human beings, that grounds the weirdness in a very welcome manner.

It was my first Murakami novel, and it definitely won’t be my last.