Quote Porn
A Wild Sheep Chase
"Not a comforting thought: that my betters could fall to pieces before me."
"Whether you take the doughnut hole as a blank space or as an entity unto itself is a purely metaphysical question and does not affect the taste of the doughnut one bit."
"Whether you take the doughnut hole as a blank space or as an entity unto itself is a purely metaphysical question and does not affect the taste of the doughnut one bit."
"Generally, people who are good at writing letters have no need to write letters. They've got plenty of life to lead inside their own context."
Dune
"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them."
"There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man—with human flesh."
"Riots and comedy are but symptoms of the times, profoundly revealing."
A Few Thoughts
Today features two books that kind of caused me to roll my eyes when I finished them, and wondered why they had come so highly recommended. But, I remember each book fondly each time I think of the things contained within them.Forgive me if this sounds ridiculous, but Dune has either the thinnest veneer ever or is the victim of massive coincidence. Some plot highlights, in short: there are sand-people native to a desert planet, where liaisons of a white galactic empire abuse the local resource called spice, a resource which powers the galaxy. These sand-dwellers defend their rightful, torrid homes as fierce battlefield combatants and by extreme means such as suicide bombings. Their language is a mouthful, and words like Muad-Dib and Shai Hulud are par for the course. They deal with the evil empire's presence despite their resentment of them. Oh, and the figurehead pulling the strings above the local empire's administration is literally a diddler. Eventually, a psychic spiritual leader for the people arises and begins to lead them on a jihad (the book's word, not mine) to reclaim their place of ownership on the planet, and he fears later, the universe.
If Dune were written and released today, Frank Herbert would be on a no-fly list and the target of countless death threats. Context is a hell of a drug.
With all that said, I was able to detach myself from the metaphor for more than long enough to enjoy the book. Herbert does an awesome job with politics, body language and atmosphere, to name a few things. The attention given to detailing character body language especially (a necessary plot device for certain characters in the book) is unique and paints a vivid moving picture. The Dune universe feels full in the same sort of way Middle Earth does, with customs and songs and languages and maps and all other sorts of flavor text around the main quest.
The prose in Dune is admirable, too. Doubtless, it's at least partially due to its length, and the writing is fairly matter-of-fact without a lot of flair—but, those thoughts notwithstanding, I clipped more quotations for keeping in my Kindle notes from Dune than just about any other book. That's a compliment I didn't even try to pay Frank Herbert.
My biggest nitpick with the book was the characters. Paul was a messianic figure who somehow managed to be more boring than Jesus, and his mother, despite her training-bestowed mysticism, still often felt like a cardboard cutout female matriarch. Lots of the auxiliary characters (Gurney Halleck and Stilgar especially) were better, but then the story wasn't really about them.
A Wild Sheep Chase, for a Murakami novel, is very cohesive and almost makes literal sense without delving too deep into metaphor and symbolism. By more broad reading standards, however, the book is rife with odd situations, odd characters, and an eventual outcome that's as creepy as it is open-ended.
Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As the story winds along, the settings get gradually more rural as the nameless protagonist searches for the sheep. The surroundings graduate from urban Japan to a cabin that's inaccessible during winter months. What's more, a narrative initially grounded in the reality of a daily routine begins to unravel until, eventually, I have another excuse to use the word Kafkaesque in a sentence. It's an incredibly smooth transition that slides A Wild Sheep Chase from crowded to vacant, from reality-anchored to dreamy, and from comfortable to why is this man dressed like a giant rat?
One thing I gained from A Wild Sheep Chase was the desire to know more about Eastern philosophy. A lot of the questions it poses, both in the text and outside of it, are very existential in nature. Now, that's not to say that I did anything more to educate myself than read a few Wikipedia pages—but then, there aren't many books I put down and immediately think "Mmmm, supplemental reading; delicious!", so the intrigue continued to some extent even after the novel was through. I tend to like any author who makes me think, I think.
With all that said, I was able to detach myself from the metaphor for more than long enough to enjoy the book. Herbert does an awesome job with politics, body language and atmosphere, to name a few things. The attention given to detailing character body language especially (a necessary plot device for certain characters in the book) is unique and paints a vivid moving picture. The Dune universe feels full in the same sort of way Middle Earth does, with customs and songs and languages and maps and all other sorts of flavor text around the main quest.
The prose in Dune is admirable, too. Doubtless, it's at least partially due to its length, and the writing is fairly matter-of-fact without a lot of flair—but, those thoughts notwithstanding, I clipped more quotations for keeping in my Kindle notes from Dune than just about any other book. That's a compliment I didn't even try to pay Frank Herbert.
My biggest nitpick with the book was the characters. Paul was a messianic figure who somehow managed to be more boring than Jesus, and his mother, despite her training-bestowed mysticism, still often felt like a cardboard cutout female matriarch. Lots of the auxiliary characters (Gurney Halleck and Stilgar especially) were better, but then the story wasn't really about them.
A Wild Sheep Chase, for a Murakami novel, is very cohesive and almost makes literal sense without delving too deep into metaphor and symbolism. By more broad reading standards, however, the book is rife with odd situations, odd characters, and an eventual outcome that's as creepy as it is open-ended.
Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As the story winds along, the settings get gradually more rural as the nameless protagonist searches for the sheep. The surroundings graduate from urban Japan to a cabin that's inaccessible during winter months. What's more, a narrative initially grounded in the reality of a daily routine begins to unravel until, eventually, I have another excuse to use the word Kafkaesque in a sentence. It's an incredibly smooth transition that slides A Wild Sheep Chase from crowded to vacant, from reality-anchored to dreamy, and from comfortable to why is this man dressed like a giant rat?
One thing I gained from A Wild Sheep Chase was the desire to know more about Eastern philosophy. A lot of the questions it poses, both in the text and outside of it, are very existential in nature. Now, that's not to say that I did anything more to educate myself than read a few Wikipedia pages—but then, there aren't many books I put down and immediately think "Mmmm, supplemental reading; delicious!", so the intrigue continued to some extent even after the novel was through. I tend to like any author who makes me think, I think.
Head-to-Head
Characters: A nameless protagonist and a girl whose ears are her most important attribute still manage to trump cardboard cutouts of tired tropes.
Advantage: A Wild Sheep Chase.
Plot: Murakami's smooth and a little frightening, Herbert verges on epic.
Advantage: Push.
Ending: Dune was the first in a series, and still managed a satisfying ending. Props because that's not always so easily done.
Advantage: Dune.
Language/Writing: A Wild Sheep Chase was early Murakami, and though his talent was still manifest, his writing definitely got better in later days. As said above, Dune wasn't flashy, but still quotable and effective.
Advantage: Dune.
Philosophy: Dune meditated a little on holy wars, indigenous peoples and bureaucracy. A Wild Sheep Chase was a little more abstract and existential, but still generated thought.
Advantage: A Wild Sheep Chase, if just because the thinking it caused was less uncomfortable/stressful.
Winner Winner Turkey Supper
Dune is a classic for a reason, and despite A Wild Sheep Chase's excellent evolving atmosphere, Dune was bigger and better.
Dune to round two.
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