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* [[Hardcover]] – ISBN 0-87011-905-2, published in October, [[1989 in literature|1989]] by [[Kodansha|Kodansha International]]
* [[Hardcover]] – ISBN 0-87011-905-2, published in October, [[1989 in literature|1989]] by [[Kodansha|Kodansha International]]
* [[Paperback]] – ISBN 0452265169, published on [[November 1]], [[1990]] by [[Plume (publishing)|Plume Fiction]]
* [[Paperback]] – ISBN 0452265169, published on [[November 1]], [[1990]] by [[Plume (publishing)|Plume Fiction]]
* [[Paperback]] ISBN 0-375-71894-X, published in [[2002]] by [[Vintage Books|Vintage International]]
* [[Paperback]] ISBN 0-375-71894-X, published in [[2002]] by [[Vintage Books|Vintage International]]
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{{Haruki Murakami}}
{{Haruki Murakami}}

Revision as of 03:50, 30 April 2009

A Wild Sheep Chase
AuthorHaruki Murakami
Original title羊をめぐる冒険
Hitsuji o meguru bōken
TranslatorAlfred Birnbaum
LanguageJapanese
GenreSurreal novel
PublisherKodansha International
Publication date
October 1982
Publication placeJapan
Published in English
December 31, 1989
Media typePrint (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages299 pp (US 1st edition)
400 (UK Paperback)
405 pp (JP 1st edition)
ISBN[[Special:BookSources/ISBN+0-87011-905-2+%28US+1st+edition%29%3Cbr%3EISBN+0-09-944882-3+%28UK+edition%29%3Cbr%3EISBN+4-062-00241-8+%28JP+1st+edition%29 |ISBN 0-87011-905-2 (US 1st edition)
ISBN 0-09-944882-3 (UK edition)
ISBN 4-062-00241-8 (JP 1st edition)]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded byPinball, 1973 
Followed byDance Dance Dance 

A Wild Sheep Chase (羊をめぐる冒険, Hitsuji o meguru bōken) is a novel published in 1982 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. It is the sequel to Pinball, 1973, and is the third book in Murakami's "Trilogy of the Rat".

In A Wild Sheep Chase, Murakami blends elements of American literature with Japanese contexts, exploring post-WWII Japanese cultural identity. The book is part mystery and part fantasy with a postmodern twist.

Plot summary

This mock-detective tale follows an unnamed Japanese man through Tokyo and Hokkaidō in 1978. The passive, chain-smoking main character gets swept away on an adventure that leads him on a hunt for a sheep that hasn’t been seen for years. The apathetic protagonist meets a woman with magically seductive ears and a strange man who dresses as a sheep and talks in slurs; in this way there are elements of Japanese animism or Shinto.

Sequel

Murakami wrote a sequel to this book, entitled Dance Dance Dance, which also follows the adventures of the unnamed protagonist and the Sheep Man. However, its plot, tone and the majority of the characters are sufficiently different that Dance Dance Dance can be seen as separate from the "Trilogy of the Rat."

Awards

  • Noma Literary Newcomer's Prize

Book information

A Wild Sheep Chase (English edition) by Haruki Murakami; translated by Alfred Birnbaum.