A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (ISBN:037571894X)

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		A Wild Sheep Chase
	
				(272 reviews)			
(8332 Readers)

			Haruki Murakami		
	
As with many of Haruki Murakami's novels, the plot curdles with complex diversity only to be resolved by a collision between wild fantasy and...more
 As with many of Haruki Murakami's novels, the plot curdles with complex diversity only to be resolved by a collision between wild fantasy and outright slapstick. A Wild Sheep Chase refers aptly to the tradition of cool but kitsch detective sagas. Except here, the metaphoric goose is now a literal sheep with a distinctive marking; an urban myth with the promise of immortality.The anonymous narrator is a mild-mannered thirtysomething with a more than understanding attitude--things happen because they are supposed to and there's no sense standing in the way of progress or nature. It takes the disappearance of a friend and some gentle intimidation from a right wing conglomerate to break the pattern of apathy and send him off on his adventure.Murakami's detail of the most mundane situations makes his lead character endearing. Those who've read Murakami before will recognise that certain empathy for the strange thoughts and rituals that are now hallmarks of his wry humour. Although an unlikely hero, the quest for a missing friend and the support of a lover with mysterious ears takes him off in search of the elusive sheep in a bizarre adventure--danger and absurdity hindering every movement. --David Trueman   less

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Showing 10 of 272 reviews

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							Valeria
						
							few weeks ago						
Another disturbingly enticing book by Mr. Murakami. We follow the narrator in a literal "wild sheep chase" throughout Japan, while he tries to understand the reasons for his recent divorce, the enigmatic letters he received from a childhood friend, at the same time that he has to track down a mysterious sheep with magical powers. This is not an easy book, but once you accept the surreal reality...more
 Another disturbingly enticing book by Mr. Murakami. We follow the narrator in a literal "wild sheep chase" throughout Japan, while he tries to understand the reasons for his recent divorce, the enigmatic letters he received from a childhood friend, at the same time that he has to track down a mysterious sheep with magical powers. This is not an easy book, but once you accept the surreal reality in which the characters live, it is hard to put it down.   hide

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							Shelagh
						
							few weeks ago						
Not my favourite...  Read Hard boiled wonderland afterward, or you'll get too many spoiled moments.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
after "Kafka on the shore "this is my favorite one by Murakami.Firstly it doesn't seem to be very interesting,but maybe after the 100th page it's just breathtaking.

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							Mike
						
							few weeks ago						
"marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami’s international reputation. " is what it says, for which read daft nonsense that is shallowness purporting as depth, insignificance purporting to be significance. Hardly a thriller, I waited so patiently for a real story to unfold... Are all the...more
 "marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami’s international reputation. " is what it says, for which read daft nonsense that is shallowness purporting as depth, insignificance purporting to be significance. Hardly a thriller, I waited so patiently for a real story to unfold... Are all the author's books like this, I wonder.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I'm copying a review from a woman, because I think it sums up my feelings on the novel quite well: "Unfortunately, the author took far too long to get to the meat of his novel. The humor in the first half of the book felt forced.  The protagonist was too dull.

Just as I was about to give up on it, Murakami introduced the Sheep Professor, the Sheep Man and the Rat, in rapid succession....more
 I'm copying a review from a woman, because I think it sums up my feelings on the novel quite well: "Unfortunately, the author took far too long to get to the meat of his novel. The humor in the first half of the book felt forced.  The protagonist was too dull.

Just as I was about to give up on it, Murakami introduced the Sheep Professor, the Sheep Man and the Rat, in rapid succession. And suddenly, it became exactly the kind of novel it spent over two hundred pages trying to be. The last few chapters are infused with all of the feeling that the first half of the book lacked.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Not his best, but still an interesting read. 

I'll probably have to re-read it once I'm done with its spiritual successor, Dance Dance Dance.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I really enjoyed this book at the time but ultimately the more Murakami one reads, the more one realizes why it's so easy to parody his work.

See: http://kitoba.com/pedia/Murakami.html

Recently, upon learning that my girlfriend had picked up one of his more recent works I asked her what it was about.  "Wait," I asked, "Is it about a middle-aged narrator/protagonist who's life is in second...more
 I really enjoyed this book at the time but ultimately the more Murakami one reads, the more one realizes why it's so easy to parody his work.

See: http://kitoba.com/pedia/Murakami.html

Recently, upon learning that my girlfriend had picked up one of his more recent works I asked her what it was about.  "Wait," I asked, "Is it about a middle-aged narrator/protagonist who's life is in second gear and who's slowly being overcome by a growing sense of alienation, discontentment and malaise only to have his life radically altered by either a bizarre event, an encounter with a younger woman, or some combination of the two?

"Yes," she answered.   hide

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							Wendy
						
							few weeks ago						
As with other Murakami novels the story is engaging and mysterious. The ending is never what it seems and it continues to pick at your brain...

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Poignant symbolism, not only for the plight of post-modern Japan, but for humanity's search for identity as a whole.  As in a great musical composition, the silence between the notes is often the most important contributor to the piece.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Another strange, rule-breaking, hard-boiled fantasia from Murakami. He makes me happy to be along, even when I don't know what's going on. I can't wait for someone to write a set of annotations explaining the things too Japanese for me to get though...but even still, this book is funny enough, fun enough, heartbreaking enough to stay intriguing in translation.

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