A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (1982)

Summary: A man looks for answers as more questions pop up. He will do it for the money, for his life, but it all seems uncanny. What is the meaning of the hotel name? Why has his friend been out of touch for so long? What is it about the photograph with the sheep? What is it about her ears that is just so lovely?

Review: Murakami weaves a fantastic story filled with allusion, foreshadowing and mystery. It feels like what he says, when someone rifles through another person’s history. It’s a very quirky setting that finds its way through a maze that appears as a cross between coincidence and destiny and I am in love with that kind of surrealism. A page-turner for sure. With Murakami’s novels, you always wonder how it will tie together at the end, or if it, with flair, manages to trick you.

Rating (1=regretful read…10=My New Favorite Book): 7 pairs of the prettiest ears you’ll ever encounter

Favorite part: “Speaking frankly and speaking the truth are two different things entirely. Honesty is truth as prow is to stern. Honesty appears first and truth appears last. The interval between varies in direct proportion to the size of ship. With anything of size, truth takes a long time in coming. Sometimes it only manifests itself posthumously, therefore, should I import you with no truth at this juncture, that is no fault of mine. Nor yours.” p.125 The main character inquires a person on his journey about something and gets this response. (I am vague because the beauty of this book is in the details that unfold at a pace that keeps the reader intrigued.)

Wine-pairing: Look at a painting of by Mark Ryden, any one will do. It is random and yet, filled with symbols and soft light that you’ll want to think there is more meaning in life than you thought before.