Things I Read: A Wild Sheep Chase - Seductive Ears and Star-Shaped Sheep

Did you know that Japan’s consumption of wool ranks among the highest in the world? Inexplicably though there are only 20,000 sheep living in the entire country. Most of Japan’s wool actually comes from imports, only made possible through cheap trade with countries such as China. That's the power of foreign trade in a nutshell if ever you wanted to know.

I’m regaling this to you because I’ve been reading A Wild Sheep Chase, Haruki Murakami’s third novel. The story focuses on a recent divorcee living in Tokyo in the mid-1970s who, after receiving an inexplicable photograph by an old friend, is visited by a mysterious secretary representing one of Japan’s hidden political elite. The secretary orders him to undertake a mission to find a sheep marked with a distinctive star shape on its back. This leads to the literal wild sheep chase of the title.

Naturally the story leaves a lot to the imagination but it's largely about the mysterious forces at the heart of society. It does an excellent job striking a contrast between these and regular ol' aspects of daily life. Its plot offers many personal and philosophical ruminations. It ends quite satisfyingly too, which is a real rarity for a Murakami book.

All in all, I’m a big fan.

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