After the blunder that was “Pinball, 1973”, Haruki Murakami returned with a rather great novel, that was the first that moved in the style that eventually led him to become one of the masters of modern literature.
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The third part of “The Rat Trilogy” finds the protagonist having divorced, just before meeting a girl who possesses magically seductive and supernaturally perceptive ears, and eventually becomes his girlfriend. His life changes radically, however, when he publishes a photo of a pastoral scene sent to him in a confessional letter by The Rat, who had disappeared completely from his life before. Eventually, he and his partner are contacted by a mysterious man representing ‘The Boss,' a central force behind Japan's political and economic elite, who is now slowly dying. The Boss' secretary tells him that a strange sheep with a star-shaped birthmark, pictured in the advertisement, was in some way the secret source of the Boss' power and that he has two months to find that sheep or his career and life will be ruined. The narrator and his girlfriend track the sheep to the north of Japan, and eventually decide to travel there together. As they discover the story of a small village that seems to be connected with the whole case, they meet a number of rather unusual characters, before the story takes a completely surreal turn.
Haruki Murakami seem to have matured significantly in the time between his second and third novel, with the showing-off aspect that was quite evident in the previous two books completely missing here. At the same time, a number of his trademark elements are present in all their glory, starting with the concept of ordinary people having remarkable, somewhat surreal life experiences. The built-up from the realism that permeates the novel in the beginning, to this approach, which becomes more significant as the story progresses, and finds its apogee in the last part, is one of the best parts of the narrative, particularly due to the way Murakami handles the main and a number of peripheral mysteries that become part of the story.
Also of excellence is the conception and implementation of the many characters that appear in the novel, all of which are quite memorable, both due to the back stories and the way they interact with the protagonist. Starting with his girlfriend, which highlights Murakami's fetish for ears, something that would come up in the later books also, and continuing with the secretary, the driver, the hotel owner and his father, and most of all, the Sheep-Man, every character in the story is there to add something rather entertaining. Even the Boss, who does not actually appear in the story, is very well sketched, with his invisible presence casting a shadow that affects almost everything in the story. His, and the village's back story, emerge as two of the most impressive narrative elements in the book.
At the same time, all the aforementioned are implemented as tools for Murakami in order to make a number of social, philosophical, and political comments. The concept of the powerful people that live in the shadows but affect everything around them is a central one, but Murakami also deals with loneliness, despair, starting anew, alcoholism, religion, the difficulties relationships present, family, and the consequences of modernization. Despite their number, all of the above are well-implemented in the story, as much as the plethora of characters these comments derive from.
Some issues still appear in the book, however. The sudden disappearance of a key character, which eventually became one of Murakami's trademarks is here once more but is handled somewhat clumsily, while the majority of the part in the villa is quite dull, slowing down the pace of the book abruptly, significantly, and for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the ending definitely compensates, as it is also the best part of the novel.
“A Wild Sheep Chase” is an excellent book and also holds much significance as the title that begun Murakami's trip towards becoming a master.
