I have now read more than half of Murakami's novels (at least those translated to English). I am beyond entranced and Wild Sheep Chase is certainly a great moment in his writing where it is clear that his voice, themes, and wonderful quirks flow easily and effortlessly. What a great delight!

I had been reading "backwards" in time (which seems, in saying so very much a thing Murakami would appreciate). Then, I started reading mainly from his first works forward. It is clear that his voice and style has grown more confident and pure over time. So in Wild Sheep Chase, which is neither his first nor more recent work, it is simply brilliant to see his artistry in a nearly fully honed yet still raw state. All of the elements are present. All of the wonderful prose and beautiful contrast of depth, subtlety, nuance and brash modernity are here.

Our hero is imperfect and conflicted. He is faced with a bizarre and absurd choice, taking the wrong option for all the worst (but very human) reasons. He finds himself engulfed in a world that seems similar and parallel, but is clearly not part of reality. Murakami employs no convenient devices to make this seem plausible; on the contrary woos us with mysticism entwined with humor and a wry wink, a nearly constant aside, to the reader. The plot is known from nearly the start, and the outcome is a mystery to ... or perhaps beyond ... the end. Joy!

If you're reading his (still forming) opus in order, you'll see a bit of a jolt in this work -- a moment where it becomes clear that the author has found all the bits that will make his other novels great. I haven't read them all yet, but it will not be long before I do. This is a moment of Murakami building, and it is stunning, both in itself as a great novel, and as well a brilliant flash of what is yet to come.

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.

This was Murakami’s first novel to be published in America, and it is one of his finest. Everything is here: his sense of humor, his sense of the absurd, offbeat side stories, alternate realities, and gorgeous prose. Chapter headings alone give a sense of the wonders to come: Chapter 4: The Whales Penis and the Woman with Three Occupations; and Chapter 6: The Further Adventures of Unblocked Ears. The main story opens with a mysterious stranger arriving at the narrator’s office to discuss a problem. He explains that something is very odd about a photograph of grazing sheep that the narrator’s company has published in a journal. All issues must be destroyed or the narrator’s life will be threatened. The stranger hands the narrator an envelope full of money and sends him to Hokkaido to verify the exact location of the sheep farm. There are a couple of unnecessary chapters midway in the novel (when the narrator is preparing to leave on his journey) that slow the book down, but Murakami quickly recovers. There are so many delights, it’s hard not to mention them all, but by all means search out the story of the worm universe and the cow’s search for pliers. As always, a Murakami novel is fast reading. If Murakami, with his wild imagination and sense of humor, were allowed to rule the world, we would all be wondrously confused and deliriously happy.

The style, right from the start, was wonderfully paced - action, interesting characters, questions, not a dull moment or a trite image. The pace was combined with a poetic sensibility that gave it tremendous depth. The characters were very real, challenging, unexpected, honest. If you prefer books that make sense and don't challenge reality, skip this one, but if you like to have your mind expanded, then you'll love the ride this offers. Metaphor, mystery, heartbreak, surprise, great writing, I don't know how this could have been more interesting and riveting. I know it was one of his earlier books, and I am (sadly) only now becoming a fan, but it was one of those books you read and can't believe you didn't know about or hadn't read. One of the things I wondered about was how the author wrote in Japanese, it was translated, and yet the poetry of the prose still rang true. I'm going to read Dance, Dance, Dance next, which is sort of the sequel. The author must be the coolest guy ever!

Review: A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase is the novel where Haruki Murakami fully becomes Murakami—a strange, funny, melancholic blend of noir mystery, magical realism, and existential inquiry. It’s a book that feels both playful and quietly profound, asking big questions while pretending not to care about the answers.

The plot begins deceptively simply: an unnamed narrator is tasked with finding a mysterious sheep marked with a star on its back. That odd premise quickly spirals into something much stranger—a journey through urban loneliness, fractured identity, political power, and the invisible forces that shape our lives. As always with Murakami, the “chase” matters far more than the destination.

What makes the novel so compelling is its tone. Murakami writes with a casual, almost deadpan humor that makes surreal events feel oddly normal. Talking sheep, shadowy right-wing figures, and metaphysical possession coexist with beer, jazz, and long stretches of introspection. The narrator’s detached voice perfectly mirrors the book’s themes of alienation and emotional drift.

The characters are memorable in Murakami’s signature way—slightly off-kilter, symbolic, and emotionally elusive. The girlfriend with uncanny ears, the enigmatic Rat (a returning character from Murakami’s earlier novels), and the shadowy Sheep Man all feel less like traditional characters and more like embodiments of ideas: desire, loss, memory, and control.

Beneath the novel’s whimsy lies a deeper meditation on individual will versus overwhelming systems—political, cultural, and psychological. The sheep becomes a haunting metaphor for the way power inhabits people and empties them of selfhood, making the book feel surprisingly relevant even decades after its publication.

A Wild Sheep Chase is not a book for readers who want tidy explanations or conventional resolutions. It invites you to sit with ambiguity, to enjoy the ride, and to trust the mood more than the logic. For readers new to Murakami, it’s an excellent entry point; for longtime fans, it’s one of his most essential works.

Strange, atmospheric, and quietly unsettling, A Wild Sheep Chase lingers in your mind long after the final page—like a half-remembered dream you’re not quite sure you want to fully understand.

I read Kafka on the shore and figured the meloncholy feel to parts of that book may have been particular to the story. Well silly me. Though a completely different adventure (even the bleak episodes here are not boring), Wild Sheep Chase has some very sad moments that left me feeling like I had been hit hard or at the very least needed some strong drink for a few hours. The sensation lingered on into the next day (I guess a sign of good writing if the book can affect you for a while).

I could be wrong but it seemed to me the main character is also in this melancholy state. At one point he says something like he doesnt mind the (actual word would be a spoiler) sad moments as it better than emptyness.

So despite it all I would still recommend this if you are not already unstably blue. I am going to be careful of which book I read by him next (I read many short stories which were more insightfully weird and subdued than tearfully sad like KOTS or AWSC). Its worth it for the highly detailed characters and scenes and especially

the bizarre and downright paranormal events that are handled very deftly. And admittedly it wouldnt have been such a bummer in parts if it wasnt for getting attached to the characters.

Actually my only real frustration was that some of the mysteries of the book were less resolved at the end than the start (to me anyways). Maybe I have to read it again. Not sure.

I guess I was looking for a book that would be both mind expanding and liberating from dull everyday life. I guess it was but not exactly in the fun new age Deepak Chopra way I was hoping for.

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 😛).

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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.”

This review is 100% spoiler-free so don't worry. I've read some other reviews that said this book has a bad ending, but I'm starting to wonder if they were reviewing "A Wild Sheep Chase", as without a shadow of doubt, the ending is by far the best part of the book. Even a week after reading, and having read a few other books since then, "A Wild Sheep Chase" has an ending that will last with me forever. The characters are all memorable and enjoyable to read about(looking at you 1Q84). And the plot is rather complex but easy to understand and grasp for nearly anyone.

As it stand I could easily see this book as ending up being one of my all time favorite(if not my all time favorite) Haruki Murakami book. I'm currently on the verge of finishing all of his Novels but still enjoy this one a great deal.

Worth every penny and then some, you will not regret reading it. And I can guarantee when you're done you will look back on it while it's on your shelf and feel reminiscent of the memories, laughs, and somber feelings it gave you.

日本語は読んでないが、英訳本はいつもの春樹本に比べて　やや頻回に辞書を要したのが気になった。主人公とその友人のRat, 耳の綺麗な彼女、羊博士などの話は導入部分としては良かった。北海道の雪深い山中の出来事の辺りから、ストーリーがやや難解かつ幻想的になり、時代的にも突然に古い話になったりして、緊張感が薄れそうになった。だが、羊男のイラスト（著者自作？）のあたりから、俄然　面白く展開する。前半からは予想できないような結末だった。YY

The style of writing reminds me of catch22. You don’t realise how the plot moves swiftly even though all the mundane things explained with all the time in the world. Feels like Written with a relaxed mind and restless soul.

Of all Murakami's books this is the lightest and wittiest.

Our nameless hero (in fact no-one in this book has a real name) and his lovely girlfriend chase after the sheep. After many tribulations they find it and amazing things happen. The surreal plot is glorious.

It's like a modern day Philip Marlowe, but Japanese. And weird.

This is in my lifetime top ten books!

Short but classy read

Proud to say I first read A Wild Sheep Chase back around the late '80s before Murakami was famous, and now I recommend it to others as the best place to start if you're curious about this celebrated author. It has many of the motifs that have become mainstays of his novels such as a mystery, a quest, pop culture references, oddly metaphysical encounters and suggestions of an alternate reality. In fact, you might call it a metaphysical detective story. While Murakami wrote several works beforehand (Hear The Wind Sing, Pinball, Norwegian Wood), in my opinion this was his first real mature work, exhibiting the matter of fact economy of style that has won him so many fans. Some should be warned, like a few other Murakami works it ends in an ambiguous fashion, but that's part of what keeps you thinking years afterwards. Enjoy.