"A Wild Sheep Chase" by Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author with a lot of his work translated into english. “A Wild Sheep Chase” is my first introduction to Murakami’s works. This was suggested to me by a sweet lady at the reference desk in the university library. Incidentally, the university library is also a public library. My university being a land grant university, it is obligatory to open the library for public. A consequence of that is that you get stuff u dont expect to be available in a typical university library. For instance, u can borrow the latest edition of Playboy over the counter. They also maintain archives of newspapers since the 1900s.

What struck as amusing, at the same time reflecting the quality of his works (and it’s translation), is that although the setting of his novel is in Japan. The novel makes sense only if it were in Japan, yet the description, plot and the mood is so universal that anyone can relate to it. It is almost like he picked an alien to land on Japan, see his story unfold and get the alien to write it all. Though simplistic and language and easy to read, the quality is of the highest order. This is one book I would recommend everyone to read, regardless of your taste.

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