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This book came highly recommended to me by Robyn, and it didn't disappoint, not until the end anyway. The story is unique and absorbing, and the author has many insightful observations and a clear writing style (as far as the translation goes). The novel reads at times like a fantasy since Murakami is known for using supernatural and mythical elements in his work. In the case of A Wild Sheep Chase, the story revolves around a mythical sheep for which the nameless male protagonist goes on a search across Japan, and thus ensues an unusual adventure. In the novel, the mythical and the fantastic are often woven together by strings of symbols, subtle or otherwise. Murakami loves his symbolism, sometimes a bit too much (such as the weird thing about 'ears'), and I still don't know how I feel about his portrayal of women. I think one issue I have with the book is that its characters don't seem human, and that is perhaps intentional on the author's part. They are not supposed to be human because they symbolize something larger, something representative, perhaps, of Japan as a nation and the Japanese as a people.
I was entertained and drawn in by the story, but I hated the ending. I was disappointed by the unexpectedly simple resolution to the major mystery in the novel - the identity of the oh so important sheep. I guess I was expecting something less blatant and more subtle. Then again, it might be a bias on my part to judge the book according to the standards of post-modern literature in the west. My lack of knowledge about Japan and its spiritualism might work to my disadvantage when it comes to appreciating the book. Sometimes it is a question of taste, but when reading a novel about a culture I'm not familiar with, I do not pretend I'm in the best position to judge it.
Despite my dislike for the ending, however, I enjoyed most of the novel, and perhaps I would be motivated enough one day to read up on it and then re-read it to see if I still feel the same way. Or maybe I'll try its sequel, Dance Dance Dance
8/10
