Rating: 
Summary: A minor 'Wind Up Bird Chronicle'
Review: I came to this book fresh from reading Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which entranced me. Whilst I enjoyed this also, it is more lightweight, and also more linear than W-UBC. I loved the idea of having one's personality enslaved by a malevolent sheep ('en-sheeped'?), but on the whole, the book is somehow lacking. I found some of the more obvious Americanisms of the tranlations irritating. But then, I suppose I would do as a limey... A great author, but not his best work
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I am an avid reader of all fiction and this has to be one of the best books I've read in years. It has suspense, humor and philosophy all rolled into one. Before this book, I had never read contemporary Japanese fiction and didn't know much about Japanese culture or history; however, it was beautifully translated and I had no trouble relating to the personal conflicts of the characters. I highly recommend this book and have since started reading many of Murakami's other novels. So far, this one is definitely top on my list.
Rating:
Summary: A Strange and Beautiful Book
Review: I've never read a novel which passed between the mundane and the bizarre so easily. Once I accepted that a magical sheep with a star on its fleece could become an obsession to an absolutely normal lead character, I stepped into a world where anything could happen. And Murakami does not disappoint. And he never over-explains, either. The story is told simply, refreshingly bereft of any self-agonizing characters or deep dissection of events. The plot unfolds and the reader is left with absorbing its odd contents and memorable characters. Overall, a beautiful, reality-suspending novel written with a light touch.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing details and disappointing ending
Review: In A Wild Sheep Chase, the main character was having an ordinal untidy life. One day he got a letter and a picture of sheep from his old friend and used that picture on a publication. After a couple of month, a man in a black suit came to his office and told him that one of sheep in that picture was special. Moreover, he threatened him to find the sheep giving money and saying if the main character cannot find that sheep, the man in a black suit will prevent the main character get back to the society by all means. The main character was reluctant to begin with looking for the sheep, but his girlfriend whose ears are mysteriously attractive pushed him to a chase of wild sheep...This is a slow and not-very-dynamic detective story unlike Hollywood movies. However, there is quite detailed description of surroundings and the character's feeling. Finally, the case develops in an unexpected way; surprising not-typical ending as a mystery. A Wild Sheep Chase has some confusing parts. Even though I tried to be patient and wait to solve unclear parts, I didn't understand those parts well. That difficulty to understand might caused by the very detailed description and explanation which sometimes sound like digression that don't relate to the part of chasing the sheep itself. For example, strangely enough to me, there is a great amount of explanation of the main character's sex life and his interest in ears. Unfortunately, I am not able to quite understand the purpose of this story. Perhaps, it is to describe the humor of eccentricity of people or the humor of contradiction of people's behavior or just for simple entertainment? I hope you will figure it out by yourself. This is a detective story, so you might think you have to read quite carefully to solve the mystery. However, some of the details are not directly linked to the main incident apparently. Those parts sound funny create this novel's unique style, which some people love. On the other hand, some people may get frustrated by this style. I was surprised and disappointed with the way to how to end because the presence of spiritual things gets much bigger at the end of mystery. Therefore, you should not expect logical completeness in this novel, which you might expect when you read typical detective stories like Sherlock Homes. I also felt disappointed because many parts that sounded important remained unclear and seemed scattered without any connection. Finally, I recommend this book to people who have time and who are patient. I hope you can enjoy the book.
Rating: 
Summary: difficult
Review: The book, A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami was somewhat of a difficult book for me to read. The story is about a man in advertising who went in search of a rather unique sheep becuase of an advertising photo that was used for one of his clients. I had a tough time following the direction of the story because it talked a lot about the geography of Japan and I felt that for me to have a better understanding for the story I should have had a little knowledge of Japan. So for me to try and clarify everything, I would ask the people in my book club group to help me out. The tone that the author used was could have been a bit lighter to add more color the story. Murakami make the chase of the nameless main character appear boring because and seem to drag when he would go out for about a day and come home with no findings. Then he would seem convinced that he would not find the sheep, so that made me lose interest in finding the sheep either. Also, the tone of the book made it harder for me to catch the comedy that Murakami was trying to use. I think that this book would be good for anyone who would know something of the geography of Japan. For anyone who likes to read a more mellow and slow story they would enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Predict! Predict! Predict!
Review: A Wild Sheep Chase is a warm-hearted, mysterious, detective story that engages the imagination and elicits conjecture. I think the narration of the story is unique. Haruki Murakami uses a lot of meaningless humor;he brings focus to circumstances or objects that people usually don't pay attention to.He strongly shows isolation, but the way he describes it is not at all gloomy or serious. The story doesn't reveal the answer to the mystery of the sheep easily. I thought I would be able to solve the riddles in the story while reading because Murakami drops many hints. However, as I continued reading, I realized that I still could not have predicted the end. I read it without stopping because of my curiosity. The ending was quite unexpected and desolate. I like the story very much because it was full of suspense, surprise,and shifty turns. I want to read this story again, but in Japanese.I think reading it in the original language is best because the expression and humor will be true to the writer's meaning, which is sometimes lost or compromised in translations. I recommend this book to people who like detective stories, mysteries, and dramas. Also, I think it's better to have a little knowledge of Japan.
Rating:
Summary: You would learn...
Review: The main character must find the special sheep with a star-mark within one month - the main character must have started the adventure by the strange man's order. This whole story is covered with mystery, so we can't say clearly why, where, when the story happened - and of course, this is the charm of the book. "A Wild Sheep Chase" is a mystery, but for me, the interesting point of this story is the main charecter's thoughts and interpretation of the world. Sometimes he notices really small things that we always ignore or don't care about and makes us agree with his thinking. For example, when he saw himself in the mirror, he noticed, "This is me everyone see.", but at the same time, he thought that the man in the mirror might just copy him, and perhaps, he might copy the man. The thinking is sort of common, but it hides in our mind deeply in daily life, so It remainds us that we consider it in the same way, and we can make sure of it. The reason these things happen is because he is a ordinary person with a normal life. That is, he is seme as us. Usually people try to escape from boredom, but he doesn't do that. When people come to accept their life, people might notice importance of life. I recommened this book to the person who likes mystery of course, and the person who tries to escape from foredom because you can find from the book not only something interesting but also something important. When you read the book, you could learn how you find the importance from your ordinary life.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended, timely re-issue
Review: This is a timely re-issue of a an excellent novel, giving a vivid and likeable picture of modern Japanese society wrapped in a post-modern detective story. The translator has done a paticularly good job of writing in good english while capturing something of the pitch and flow of Japanese expression. As a result, the book is a striking blend of the familiar and the foreign.
Rating:
Summary: A mix between Catch 22 and Li Po
Review: The descriptions and similies of this novel are just fantastically exact. The detatched was the protagonist tells his story is interesting too. Nothing is awkward, and the language is nearly faultless.
Rating:
Summary: really fun!
Review: i could not put this book down! And after reading it, i had to get the sequel (Dance Dance Dance) right away. this is a detective novel of the psyche that is surreal, wild and superbly absurd!
|
