In the novel, “A Wild Sheep Chase”, the protagonist, a young advertising executive in Tokyo, Japan, becomes obsessed with finding a sheep with a human-like face that he saw in a dream.
He quits his job, breaks off his engagement, and starts a journey across Japan in search of the creature. Along the way, he meets a cast of colorful characters, including a shaman, a religious cult leader, and a pair of yakuza gangsters.
The novel is set in the late 1970s, during a time of great economic and social change in Japan. It is a satire of the country’s materialistic culture, and a commentary on the human condition.
The book was originally published in Japan, and was later translated into English.
It was a bestseller in both countries, and was made into a successful film in Japan.
The title of the novel comes from a Chinese fable about a shepherd who loses his flock of sheep in the wilderness. In the fable, the shepherd finds a wild sheep with a human face, and brings it back to civilization.
The protagonist in “A Wild Sheep Chase” is also on a journey to find a lost sheep, but his quest is complicated by the fact that he doesn’t even know if the creature exists. His search becomes an obsession, and takes him to the edge of sanity.
The novel is both a comic and a tragic story, and is ultimately about the human need for connection and belonging.
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