A Wild Sheep Chase : A Novel (Vintage International)
Submitted by Reviewer (not verified) on 4 October, 2005 - 23:55.
Some Book Reviews
| Haruki Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase |
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| Author | Haruki Murakami | | Made | Vintage | | Date | 2002-04-09 | | Media | Paperback | | Catalog | Book | | Sales Rank | 3383 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | List Price | US$14.95 | | Our Price* | US$10.17 |
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Reviews:| Rating 4.5/5 from 87 reviews | | Malignant Sheep | | Rating: 4/5 2006-08-15 | | This story is not one easily explained as I discovered when my nine-year-old cousin asked me about the book I was reading. Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase is a story of a man who has unintentionally involved himself in the obsession of Japan's most powerful and mysterious media tycoon. Suddenly he is thrust into the search for a sheep that shouldn't exist. Accompanied by his girlfriend, an expensive prostitute with magical ears, he learns more about sheep than he'd ever want to and is even confronted by a small man dressed like a sheep. I can't understand what exactly kept me interested in this ridiculous tale and probably never will. However the fact remains that I loved this book and can't wait to read the other books Murakami's written. | | Donny Darko meets paper...throw in a sheep | | Rating: 4/5 (2 out of 3 think this is helpful) 2006-06-20 | I will have to admit Murakami's more famous books "Hardboiled.." and "Wind up bird Chronicles" did not float my boat, although I agree he is no doubt talented and a gifted writer of vivid imagery and twisted plots. I must however give him due credit here for this book, the first Murakami book I read, though I'm not sure I would read it again if that makes sense. I think I was uncomfortable the whole time I read this book, but perhaps you will love it.
This book is pure entertainment. The reader will be quickly immersed in a trippy, nightmarish wonderland of modern Japan. Perhaps its comparable to Alice in wonderland where "Alice" is a middle-aged Japanese man and "Wonderland" encompasses an acid-trip OD of neverending hallucinations, mysteries, and metaphors you probably won't understand. Throw in a sheep-man in the place of the cheshire cat. It's a bit graphic, but hell, its Murakami, what do you expect?
| | A most wonderful nightmare | | Rating: 4/5 (4 out of 4 think this is helpful) 2006-04-09 | This was the second of Murakami's books I've read (previously read "Sputnik Sweetheart") and I can easily see myself becoming addicted as I have fought all urges to buy "Dance Dance Dance" before I work down my pile of previously purchased books.
Murakami is particularly gifted in working with imagery and symbolism which are the qualities that give this book its dreamlike atmosphere throughout. Everything takes on a feeling of "unreality", as if we are walking through a waking nightmare which can turn disastrous or horrifying at any moment. I was reminded of my own nightmares where I struggle to speak or perform some act that increasingly seems impossible, or reach for a person or object that manages to remain just out of reach. When I wake from such nightmares I'm left bothered and questioning for the remainder of the night, sometimes days afterwards, questioning with nothing there to offer me solace or comfort. I analyze every angle and image and am often left with nothing but a mystery that will not leave me.
That's what "A Wild Sheep Chase" did to me.
What does it mean to be "sheeped"? Who is The Rat? What will become of the Sheep Proffessor? Murakami seems content to not let us know. I'm perfectly willing to not know.
This book is not for you if you must have answers to all questions. I could attempt to make comparisons with other authors, but I feel he is unique (to me at least). The only comparison I could make outside of literature is to say reading the book is like watching David Lynch attempting to be slightly more accesible- and I pray that never happens.
What remains is a feeling of a need to re-read, knowing there are mysteries that will reveal themselves in time and with patience. Meanwhile, I itch for more of his work. The titles need to be devoured. | | a lil bit country a lil bit rock'nroll | | Rating: 3/5 2006-03-23 | | this is one of those strange books where it's easier to keep reading than it is to put it down, though you're not quite sure which you would rather do. i finished it in about four days which is fast for me but i definitely preferred norwegian wood to this, i think because the characters had more depth and less time was spent in the fantastic realm. i rate it pg for pretty good. | | Murakami, love, love his work | | Rating: 5/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2006-03-13 | I started with Kafka on the Shore and wondered why I was reading it, when it suddenly hooked me. So much so I have since read 4 other books by Murakami.
My reviews for each are all the same. Excellent, peaceful, innovative, captivating.
I hope Murakami writes quickly so I'll have something to read when I finish his others. |
Editorials:Book DescriptionA marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chaseis the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami’s international reputation.
It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company’s advertisement. What he doesn’t realize is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of tradition and the demons deep within himself. Quirky and utterly captivating, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami at his astounding best.
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