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A Wild Sheep Chase

by Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase Cover

ISBN13: 9780375718946
ISBN10: 037571894x
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is 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.

Review:

"[A] postmodern detective novel in which dreams, hallucinations and a wild imagination are more important than actual clues. With the help of a fluid, slangy translation, Murakami emerges as a wholly original talent." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"That such unruly, disjunctive elements mingle harmoniously within it is perhaps the signal feat in a highly accomplished piece of craftsmanship. If A Wild Sheep Chase is not in itself an unqualified success...it may be something more heartening still for the Japanese novel, a presentiment of fresh outlooks and impulses." The New Yorker

Review:

"A delight...equal parts screwball comedy, detective story, and heroic quest." USA Today

Review:

"Murakami is a mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wiseman." New York Times Book Review

Review:

"Murakami is a daring writer....Sheep Chase draws from both Japanese existentialism and the absurdist work of writers such as [Kobo] Abe. I suspect Murakami is as popular as he is because he is a reader's writer..." Lisa Lynch, San Francisco Review of Books

Review:

"While the climax of the story is somewhat unrewarding, many readers will enjoy being pulled along by the playful and engaging style and fluid structure. Interesting as an example of current Japanese writing and as an unusually hip and irreverent look at contemporary Japanese society..." Library Journal

Review:

"Marvelously engaging, at turns witty, dry, wicked, even loopy. Reading A Wild Sheep Chase is like spending a splendidly foul weekend with the Four Raymonds — Chandler, Carver, Massey, and Queneau." Frederick Barthelme

Synopsis:

A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, "A Wild Sheep Chase" is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. A lonely 20-something young man begins a surreal quest in which he confronts not only a herd of mythological sheep but also the demons deep within himself.

About the Author

Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami grew up in Kobe and now lives near Tokyo. The most recent of his many honors is the Yomiuri Literary Prize, whose previous recipients include Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, and Kobo Abe. His work has been translated into twenty-seven languages.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:

diippi, January 1, 2010 (view all comments by diippi)
A wild wild tale in imagination...a gripping journey into the unknown..
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
Arboreality, July 17, 2007 (view all comments by Arboreality)
What I like about Murakami is that although his stories come from left field, he is kind to his characters; he never seems to feel he needs to make them jerks or unlovable just because his story is unusual (DeLillo and Palahnuik come to mind...). I don't even know what to say about the Sheep Boy, but if you liked other Murakami, you'd like this one, as well.
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(7 of 18 readers found this comment helpful)
geonine, April 24, 2007 (view all comments by geonine)
One of my favorite books of all time right now. The writing style has magical way about it that really makes strange things happen in your head.
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(11 of 17 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780375718946
Subtitle:
A Novel
Translated by:
Alfred Birnbaum
Author:
Murakami, Haruki
Publisher:
Vintage
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Humorous Stories
Subject:
Allegories
Subject:
Sheep
Subject:
Japanese fiction
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Edition Number:
Reprint ed.
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series:
Vintage International
Publication Date:
April 2002
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
368
Dimensions:
8.22x5.01x.78 in. .61 lbs.

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A Wild Sheep Chase New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$15.95 In Stock
Product details 368 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9780375718946 Reviews:
"Review" by , "[A] postmodern detective novel in which dreams, hallucinations and a wild imagination are more important than actual clues. With the help of a fluid, slangy translation, Murakami emerges as a wholly original talent."
"Review" by , "That such unruly, disjunctive elements mingle harmoniously within it is perhaps the signal feat in a highly accomplished piece of craftsmanship. If A Wild Sheep Chase is not in itself an unqualified success...it may be something more heartening still for the Japanese novel, a presentiment of fresh outlooks and impulses."
"Review" by , "A delight...equal parts screwball comedy, detective story, and heroic quest."
"Review" by , "Murakami is a mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wiseman."
"Review" by , "Murakami is a daring writer....Sheep Chase draws from both Japanese existentialism and the absurdist work of writers such as [Kobo] Abe. I suspect Murakami is as popular as he is because he is a reader's writer..."
"Review" by , "While the climax of the story is somewhat unrewarding, many readers will enjoy being pulled along by the playful and engaging style and fluid structure. Interesting as an example of current Japanese writing and as an unusually hip and irreverent look at contemporary Japanese society..."
"Review" by , "Marvelously engaging, at turns witty, dry, wicked, even loopy. Reading A Wild Sheep Chase is like spending a splendidly foul weekend with the Four Raymonds — Chandler, Carver, Massey, and Queneau."
"Synopsis" by , A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, "A Wild Sheep Chase" is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. A lonely 20-something young man begins a surreal quest in which he confronts not only a herd of mythological sheep but also the demons deep within himself.
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