A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

This novel is definitely a perfect mix of bizarre, fanciful and poignant. I don’t know how to precisely describe how it should be classified, or which genre it should belong to. It looks like a detective story, but also gives the feeling of magical realism. It even makes me feel really surreal. This fiction incorporates a modern day, and re-interprets shamanistic traditions. This story begins with an unnamed narrator with highly emotional scars and a failed marriage. The leading character is apparently worrying about his future and agency of advertisement. At the same time, his partner’s drinking issue is rapidly getting serious. This is a really depressing and negative story setting. 

However, his life comes to a drastic change. He gets a new girlfriend, and starting to follow her based on a photo of her ear. However, in the meantime, himself is followed by a wealthy and powerful businessman. The wealthy man shows completely unhealthy interest in a photo if an unusual sheep. Such a strange relationship among characters makes me terrified. More horribly, the unnamed narrator is included in the photo. The photo is received from one of his old friends, who is corporated in a brochure that is produced by the ad agency of the protagonist.

Such a frightening relationship creates an extremely bizarre and scary atmosphere successfully.