A Wild Sheep Chase
An ordinary life of an ordinary man becomes decidely extraordinary when he is sent on a hunt for a very special sheep. The unnamed hero’s journey takes him from his home and work across the length and breadth of Japan to a run-down hotel, the wild hills of Sapporo and chance meetings with some colourful characters, both old and new.
A follow-up to Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami’s third and final part of what fans call his Trilogy of the Rat. Although three of the characters from his two earlier stories make an appearance here this is the only book that currently has an English language version still in print. It is also a prequel to his later novel Dance, Dance, Dance, which features some of the characters and locations our hero finds in this adventure.
The adventure in question is another blend of the surreal, the everyday and the metaphysical - the same formula that would earn Murakami considerable success later on. The social commentary, nods to Western popular culture and his sharp, witty observations all appear for the first time here and give the book considerable depth considering how it is initially set up as a Raymond Chandler-esque mystery tale.
Sometimes Murakami’s stories are rather open-ended with even the most interesting and tantalising details turning up to be dead ends or mere ‘decoration’ in the prose: they sound poetic but don’t actually add anything to the story. In A Wild Sheep Chase there are a few loose ends but at the same time there are enough clues for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. As it is, the locations and people are brought to life through Murakami’s writing style and Alfred Birnbaum’s translation, both being dry and comical or dreamlike and eloquent as the situation requires it.
Right from the moment when the surreal wild sheep chase begins there are clues, hints and leads that are thrown up but the story is as much a journey in which the protagonist discovers things about his own life and personality as well as the nature of the sheep itself. Once again the ideas of isolation and loneliness as well as the meaning of love and the way in which humans both fear and embrace change are all explored through an open-minded, thoughtful yet mildy apathetic individual. His passive, curiosity-filled approach makes him the perfect companion in a very strange but wondrous journey.
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