The book A Wild Sheep Chase, a novel by Haruki Murakami, is a book about an unnamed
narrator that publishes for a company he and his friend made. He has been married and recently
got divorced when the sheep chase starts. He has a girlfriend and he met her when writing an
article about her ears because she is an ear model. His friend with whom he founded the
publishing company is an alcoholic.
narrator that publishes for a company he and his friend made. He has been married and recently
got divorced when the sheep chase starts. He has a girlfriend and he met her when writing an
article about her ears because she is an ear model. His friend with whom he founded the
publishing company is an alcoholic.
The book is structured like a mystery or a quest, but it is also fantastical. (It is a fantasy-mystery.) The
whole adventure starts when the partner of the main character/narrator has an unexpected guest who
comes and asks him about a certain article that was published. This article includes a photo of sheep with
a normal Japanese landscape involving clouds, blue sky, and green grass. The man who requests the
removal of this picture and a chat with the writer, is dressed very formally. When the narrator is eventually
told this story, a limousine is sent for him to be picked up by the formally dressed man.
whole adventure starts when the partner of the main character/narrator has an unexpected guest who
comes and asks him about a certain article that was published. This article includes a photo of sheep with
a normal Japanese landscape involving clouds, blue sky, and green grass. The man who requests the
removal of this picture and a chat with the writer, is dressed very formally. When the narrator is eventually
told this story, a limousine is sent for him to be picked up by the formally dressed man.
For the quest, the narrator is given the task of finding a particular sheep that was in the photo. It had a
star on its back and is a kind of sheep that was never seen in Japan. The task is given to the narrator by a
wealthy right-wing person called The Boss. Throughout the book the narrator collects clues and solves
them.The book even makes references to famous mystery books. It mentions Sherlock Holmes five times,
and the narrator has a love for mysteries.
star on its back and is a kind of sheep that was never seen in Japan. The task is given to the narrator by a
wealthy right-wing person called The Boss. Throughout the book the narrator collects clues and solves
them.The book even makes references to famous mystery books. It mentions Sherlock Holmes five times,
and the narrator has a love for mysteries.
The narrator also talks about Moby Dick: “‘I don’t know, there’s something of Moby Dick about it.’
‘Moby Dick?’ ‘Sure. The thrill of hunting something down.’” This book is similar because in both cases
the main character(s) is/are chasing something. It is an animal - a whale or in this case a sheep - but it
seems like it means something more than that.
The book is not very realistic. It is like some fantasy book mixed with a mystery set in 1970s Hokkaido.
The characters either don’t have names, like the narrator, or have odd names. They are called things like
“Partner,” “The Rat,” and “The Sheep Professor.” Sometimes the dead talk. There is a sheep that goes
inside people. That seems pretty fantastical to me. A lot of things are left for the reader to decide.
I liked how you give quotes from the book to demonstrate your point about how your book is sort of similar to Moby Dick. I also like how you gave your readers the plot of the story but did not completely give it away. I would probably consider reading this book.
ReplyDeleteOverall just by reading this blog I would give the book a rating of 9/10/ Eventhough I have not ever read this book, your blog gives an amazing summary of the book which hooked me (and most readers) to read the rest of this blog. I loved how you included some quotes and analyzed them, it gave me a greate sense of the book.
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job summarizing this book without spoiling any of the plot, and the book sounds very interesting by the way you described it. It was also good how you compared the book to Moby Dick, to give the average person an idea about what kind of book this is.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job summarizing this book without spoiling the plot, and, by the way you described it, the book sounds very intriguing. It was a good idea to compare the book to Moby Dick, because it gives the reader an idea of the kind of book this is.
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