I was informed of her death by phone by an old friend.

So begins A Wild Sheep Chase (1989) perhaps the strangest journey through the corners of the modern world and human consciousness, invented by the classic of modern literature, the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. This novel has not without reason become an absolute world bestseller: the Sheep Hunt in our souls never ends. So – call the police, ask for the address and phone number of the family, then call the family and find out the date and time of the funeral. And then, on the appointed day, take the commuter train from Waseda Station. And hope the hunt will be successful.

The Japanese city of Sapporo, where the action of the book takes place, boasts only prolonged snowfalls and high drifts. It seems that winter reigns in it all the time: a blizzard rages outside the window, and in the soul of the heroes lives a continuous longing for summer.

The plot of the book is based on an ancient Chinese legend about the transmigration of the soul, and this sets the tone for the whole novel: mysticism, hope and a premonition of the end – that’s what is felt in every chapter.

This book is considered the third in the Rat Trilogy series, but it can be read in isolation from the previous installments. Remember that the book is translated from Japanese. On the one hand, this makes it easier to understand. On the other hand, it contains constructions and stable expressions borrowed from Japanese.

«Sometimes I get real lonely sleeping with you».