A Tokyo entrepreneur embarks on a bizarre quest to find a sheep with immense power, leading him to remote locations and uncovering the mysteries surrounding his friend's death. The narrative weaves the strange into the everyday, presenting themes of disconnectedness, acceptance of mediocrity, and the nature of change, all while blurring the lines between reality and the paranormal.

Characters:

Characters in the story are mostly unnamed and symbolic, reflecting universal themes of alienation and existential search, with a protagonist facing personal turmoil.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style merges mundane details with surreal elements, presenting a dreamlike and accessible narrative with a laid-back tone.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot focuses on a surreal quest to find a uniquely marked sheep, featuring themes of identity, alienation, and deeper reflections on contemporary Japan.

Setting:

The story is set in Tokyo and northern Japan, balancing urban and rural landscapes while reflecting the cultural context of 1970s Japan.

Pacing:

The pacing is slow and reflective, allowing for deep exploration of themes and character thoughts, creating a meandering yet thought-provoking experience.

The day of the funeral, I took a streetcar from Waseda. I got off near the end of the line. The map proved about as helpful as a globe would have been. I ended up buying pack after pack of cigarettes,...

Notes:

The characters in A Wild Sheep Chase are often unnamed, which adds to the surreal nature of the story.

The book is a part of Murakami's 'Rat Trilogy,' although it can be read as a standalone.

Murakami successfully blends elements of mystery and magical realism in this novel.

The quest revolves around finding a sheep with a star shape on its back, symbolizing broader existential themes.

Key themes include isolation, existential angst, and the search for identity within a modern society.

The protagonist is a disaffected advertising man who embarks on a strange journey after his divorce.

Murakami's use of everyday details, like smoking and drinking, creates a sense of routine juxtaposed with the bizarre events.

The narrative style is marked by a light, conversational tone, often making the absurd seem normal.

The book's humor is often dark and absurd, typical of Murakami's writing style.

Many characters embody quirky traits, such as the protagonist's girlfriend with 'perfect ears' that supposedly enhance pleasure.

Has Romance?

Romance is present in the narrative to a medium extent, focusing on the relationship between the unnamed protagonist and his girlfriend.

From The Publisher:

Quirky and utterly captivating, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami at his astounding best.

An advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend and casually appropriates the image for an advertisement. What he doesn't realize is that included in the scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes readers from Tokyo to the remote mountains of northern Japan, where the unnamed protagonist has a surprising confrontation with his demons.

Ratings (47)

Incredible (11)
Loved It (21)
Liked It (11)
It Was OK (3)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (78):

Read It (49)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (23)
Not Interested (5)

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About the Author:

HARUKI MURAKAMI was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award in…

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A Wild Sheep Chase

Haruki Murakami

Book 3 in the series:The Rat