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'A Wild Sheep Chase' is a trippy tale with a mix of detective story, myth, fantasy and philosophy. Though it can be enjoyed simply as a fable at its face-value, just a little thought reveals a multi-layered allegory. On one hand, "the sheep" could signify post-war Japan itself. At the same time, the protagonist's sheep chase also ends up being a search for his own identity, his emotions and meaning of his existence. It is as much a physical journey as a spiritual journey. There are also several references to Japan's history, its cultural and spiritual beliefs, which fit very smoothly with the obvious western influence and pop-culture allusions. For a multi-layered story, the writing is deceptively simple. It was mainly the last few chapters where the symbolism struck home and left me thinking about the novel long after I had finished reading it.

More than the plot, it is the little things about Murakami's writing which make this book memorable. What I am going to remember the most is how Murakami captures the mood of a place or a moment of time. It is as if a room or a rock or wind are really alive and that time, darkness, silence have several characteristics of their own. There is marvelous imagery, astounding descriptions of natural landscape and beautiful metaphors. The lead character is apathetic and mostly emotion-less, yet he does notice the shimmer of water in the sunlight or chirping of birds. He also has an interesting way of looking at mundane things and his thoughts often wander in strange directions. And Murakami's sense of humor is so cute!

(PS: If I happen to see a sheep during the next few days, it might creep me out a little. Damn you magic sheep!)