The task was to find the sheep before Sensei was predicted to die in about a month.

This was a unique sheep, somehow connected with the secretary’s boss, Sensei, a powerful right-wing bigwig who was in a near-death condition. Indeed, the press secretary finds the protagonist, and forces him to search for one of the sheep pictured in the photograph. Later, his girlfriend mystically predicts he will encounter a strange man, and that they will hold a conversation about sheep. The photograph itself is of banal North-Japanese scenery: mountains, valleys, and a herd of sheep. The protagonist did not want to betray his friend, so he did not tell the man where he got the photo. Despite his disappearance, the Rat sent letters to the main character. The photo was sent to him by his friend, the Rat, who had disappeared several years ago. This man wanted to know about a photograph which was used in one of the agency’s advertisements, and was distributed by the protagonist. The colleague tells him he was being sought by a strange man, the press secretary of a powerful media corporation. One day, the protagonist is called by his colleague in the advertising agency. He finds her and they become acquainted, first as friends, and then as lovers.

He finds a picture of a woman’s ear he likes so much that he decides to find the model that has such beautiful ears. Since he works in an advertising company, he often deals with advertising photos. The main character leads a monotonous life, full of reflections on his indifference to the world around him, his unfulfilled dreams, and memories. It is notable that not a single name is mentioned in the novel at all, only nicknames. As in the preceding books, Murakami does not specify this man’s name: the events are described from his viewpoint and none of the other characters ever call him by name. The protagonist of The Wild Sheep Chase characterizes himself as an ordinary Japanese man. This novel can be considered a sequel to Murakami’s previous books Pinball-1973 and Hear the Wind Sing even though they have little in common besides a couple of main characters. It tells the story of a 30-year-old Japanese man who tries to cope with an approaching midlife crisis and find answers to the questions that overwhelm him. Written in 1982, Haruki Murakami’s The Wild Sheep Chase remains perhaps one of his most renowned literary works.

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami