A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami

Isn't the photo giving an optical illusion or're my eyes finally going blind?

This is actually a rehashed version of the book review I'd written for the magazine, Renaissance 21. So most of it'd sound familiar to ones who'd read the review back then. (And if you've not checked out the magazine, then do, now! It took many back-breaking hours before the computer and days of frantic phone calls, text messages and emails to bring it out.)



A Wild Sheep Chase was the first of Murakami that I read. And the reason I read it was because you couldn't move an inch in any direction without a dozen people waxing lyrical about Murakami and his writing, the cherry on the icing being a friend, VK, whose taste I can vouch for. And I'm only too happy that for a change I listened to people and picked the book up. The novel, set in Japan of the early 80s, does take its time to gain speed. The protagonist, an anonymous Japanese man, is tricked into a hunt for a particular and particularly mythical sheep, aided only by an old black and white photograph and an array of unusual characters; from his girlfriend with her magically seductive ears to a man dressed in a sheep costume. What comes off is a wonderful amalgamation of urban legends and more traditional myths.


Surely, this novel, like all other books of the magic realism genre, isn't for everyone. From elements of Shintoism to a post modern climax, this is a champion of its genre (I can talk like a real book reviewer! :'D). Translated from the original Japanese, 'A Wild Sheep Chase' is the second book of the 'Trilogy of The Rat' series. But it can be treated as a stand alone book too, which only made me want to read the other books in the series even more.


From the Japanese countryside in Hokkaido to the towering highrises of Tokyo, Murakami excells in his descriptions. Murakami writes lucid prose with the mark of an established writer who can afford to take his time building up the story. All thanks to translator Alfred Birnbaum for making the book read like English was the original language of the novel. Lauds to Murakami for making the storyline, otherwise seemingly outlandish in a three line synopsis, read like a masterpiece in the novel-form. Going with the flow of the words, even the climax seems possible in the world of the un-named narrator.


Despite its slow start, 'A Wild Sheep Chase' is a gripping read, staying true to its title to the last word. While the climax may leave some wondering about what just happened, it is not a disappointing read by any say. Read this one with no expectation of either the ordinary or the extraordinary. A tale of searching of more than one type, it's the perfect companion for a cold evening under the blankets.