A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel (Trilogy of the Rat Book 3)

I'd recommend reading all of the books in the Rat cycle. Wind/Pinball are great openers and the beginning of a wonderful writing career. They offer a very solid foundation and the backstory for A Wild Sheep Chase (then Dance Dance Dance wraps it all up beautifully and poignantly.) In this great mystery/thriller/speculative volume, the writer we all know now as Haruki Murakami comes into his own -- complete with lots of ears, cats, music and anything else you need for your Murakami bingo card. Plus the writing is funny, the characters are interesting, and the writing is light while deep, musical and interesting, fanciful and deep. I got the sense of a writer truly enjoying the world he builds and playing in it while writing. It's a great book - shockingly early in his career, I'd say it ranks up there with some of my favorite of his works. I'm glad I finally took the time to read these books.

Bottom Line First:Murakami is not for those who want the usual in their story telling. Much of the story line is very conventional. A somewhat disaffected, somewhat successful Ad man is dealing with divorce and the dislocations from his youth that happens in the modern world. Suddenly he enters a world of super powerful, threatening men who coerce him into quest for, not the Golden Fleece, but the living sheep with a star on its back. This is very early Murakami. It lacks some of the higher polish of his later works but is free of almost all of his more recent conventions. This makes for an easier read and a more direct story line. Because I have come to admire this writer, I recommend it as a good place to start a reading relationship with a master teller of oddball stories.I first came into contact with Haruki Murakami via his book  1Q84 (Vintage International) . This is a great novel, but I later found that it was based on conventions he had developed several books earlier. My admiration was reduced by the thought that the latter book was not as inventive as I had originally believed.What I should have done, and recommend to others is that you attempt to read his books in order This was difficult to do because he had been reluctant to authorize English editions of his early works. A Wild Sheep Chase is the third book of his Trilogy of the Rat. It was the first that I was easily able to acquire. The good news is that books one and two are now available in one buy:  Wind/Pinball: Two novels . Hear the Wind Song is also his first book. So win/win.It is tricky to define what kind of books Murakami writes. The simple answer is fiction. His fiction tends to include traditional Japanese elements. There is a Spirit world, not always friendly to humans but not evil. As in other Murakami books there are references to a jazz club. (Murakami began his working life managing a jazz club. There are what will become common references to Western styles, food and music. There are parts that might be magic or science fiction and people can have extra real sensitivities.Our Central character, usually described as a Phillip Marlow matter of fact kind of person has as his girlfriend, a woman who is an ear model and is only beautiful when she exposes her ears. She is also capable of hearing signs and portents.This being the end of the trilogy, there are references to a number of characters that we have to accept absent a deep understanding of why they matter to our sheep chaser. However, the book works well as a standalone.A Wild Sheep Chase was for me a change to begin to see a fine story teller in hs early years. I will be going back again to get the rest of this trilogy. My recommendation to you is that Haruki Murakami weaves not just stories but a world. Murakami world is slightly removed from ours. It is a rich and complex world and worth your reading time.

Loved all of his book that I had read. This is a much earlier work so I suggest that one start with those written post 2000. This feels very undeveloped from a plot/story standpoint. His writing is excellent. His descriptions full and rich. But the reader searches for something that isn't there - a reason to stick with the entire book. I can't figure out why but this, despite having all the right elements for a good detective story, ends up being quite boring.

This book has everything characteristic to a standard Murakami production- 60s musical references, cats, ear obsession (or is it border line fetish?), abandonment, and a dream like setting, all concocted together in the descriptive prowess of the author. There are chunks of actual history thrown around, alongside the scenic views of Japanese urban and remote facets.Murakami is known for employing magical realism, confounding readers and leaving unanswered questions. I suppose we just have to tickle our imagination and find our own answers (on reddit 😛)..Another element I find iterating in Murakami’s books is the ‘men without women’ theme. Most of the men seem to be in a solitary situation in life, and to an extent, this adds to the cheerlessness of the atmosphere created in the book. Don’t get me wrong, the gloom is beautiful. You might find it slightly soporific but I assure you- stick through and once you’re drunk on this concoction, you will be left wanting for more.. “Time really is one big continuous cloth, no? We habitually cut out pieces of time to fit us, so we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that time is our size, but it really goes on and on.”

Murakami writes an amazing and fun narrative based on sheep, "advancd capitalism", perfect ears, cultural references and every thing else. every bit of a read for me as 1Q84.can be read independent of Wind / Pinball but better with.

Reading Murakami is like falling into a dream, while being wide awake, holding a book in your hand! For people who are new to Murakami, they should know that this book is the second one, in a trilogy. The trilogy (which is actually called the ‘Rat Trilogy’), consists of below books in this order:#1 Wind/Pinball#2 A Wild Sheep Chase#3 Dance Dance Dance'A Wild Sheep Chase' is a weird dream-like tale with a mix of detective story, myth, fantasy, and philosophy. The story opens with the protagonist, owner of a translation and advertising business in Tokyo, a young man who seems to be embracing mediocrity. He clearly embraces his girlfriend, who isn't as beautiful, but has a sixth sense about the future and exceptional ears. At intervals, he reflects upon his failed past marriage too. A strange man in a black suit sends the narrator on a wild sheep chase, to locate a single and singular sheep with a star on its back. It is an offer the young man isn’t able to refuse. He accepts the challenge, gets rid of his employment, colleagues, and material matters, and leaves with his girlfriend, headed to the punishing, mountainous landscape of Hokkaido, in the search of ‘the sheep’. Rest of the story has many twists and turns, and also the mention of ‘Rat’ (from the previous novel). To know how the protagonist finds the sheep, and what happens once he finds the special sheep, pick up this book.The purity and beauty of the writing engage the reader into the core theme of emptiness, loneliness, and alienation. The actual detective story doesn't get started until about halfway through, and pages are spent detailing random trips the guy makes to bars, and other things that don't add much to the story.Anyway, as a Murakami fan, I liked the work. This may not be one of the best (if you compare it to something like ‘Kafka on the shore’), but definitely worth a read. I would rate it 4/5. Cheers!

In my personal experience, Haruki Murakami is one of those rare writers who find it disturbingly easy to leave a heavy impression on (or better phrased, in) you. Although an enjoyable tale, "A Wild Sheep Chase" doesn't quite live up to that.This novel is best viewed as a series of separate scenes, rather than a whole. From the protagonist dinning with the girl whose ears he finds himself obsessing over, their cigarette smoke filling the dinner, watching in awe as she slowly removes her hat - to the first time he meets the sheep man - Murakami demonstrates his greatest skill; his ability to make each scene equally significant and almost unforgettable for the reader, no matter how insignificant the scene serves in the grand scheme of things.And that is sadly where the tale falls short - "the grand scheme of things". The story, and the character within it, never really amount to anything amazing, unlike so many of his novels. This is best reflected in the novel's ending. Despite being famous for his dislike of conventionally defined ending (or perhaps, because of it), Murakami's finales are often wrecking-balls to the readers emotions (I find it hard to take seriously any man or woman who found themselves underwhelmed by the final chapter of "Norwegian Wood"), yet here that is certainly not the case. Where most his "endings" follow a crescendo of a emotions, "A Wild Sheep Chase" merely fizzles out.In short, "A Wild Sheep Chase" is an enjoyable series of magical-realist scenes. Read if you can appreciate the journey, even when its destination is far less than thrilling.

Another book by Haruki Murakami which delivers - not the place to do the review as that would spoil the whole pleasure of reading. The only thing I need to point out is that this volume is second hand - nothing wrong with buying book which has been already enjoyed by someone else. Not different than having one from the library, I suppose. Arrived quickly and in excellent condition and it was cheap as chips - cost me just one penny !!! - you can't go wrong with this deal /p&p is just a detail at the end, honestly /. Great idea - would certainly use in the future!!

One of Murakami's earliy novels that sets the style for all the rest. Read it over 2 days on holiday and I bought into the concept immediately. As with all of Murakami's writing, it is the simplicity of the writing, the straightforward narrative of events far from straightforward, that are the hallmarks. I highly recommend this novel.

I have listened to one of this author's books before and really liked it. I put this in my Wishlist, and when it dropped in price, I bought it! It's a great story in retrospect - at the time, I was a little unsure, as it was really strange, but I know that I will listen to it again, and enjoy it more next time. If you like fiction that's a little off from the 'norm', or enjoyed books like The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien, then give it a go. I recommend it.