"Kōbō Abe Collection — The Adventures of Kiki-rikki"

Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-13
Features: In the novel, the protagonist "I" and his companion run an advertising company. After his wife leaves with the words "You'll never get anywhere with me," "I" meets and lives with a girl who is both a proofreader for a publishing house and a sex worker, as well as an ear model. Soon after, the secretary of a right-wing tycoon demands "I" find a sheep with a star pattern on its back within a month. But how could it be easy to find a sheep in Japan! However, the beautiful girl with lovely ears insists that this will surely be successful and urges "I" to set off quickly. Thus, "I" and his girlfriend begin their "Sheep Hunting Adventure" with only a photo sent by a friend nicknamed "Rat" as their clue. A superpowered sheep that controls all of Japan has gone missing, and its host, a yakuza boss, is on the brink of death. A down-and-out Tokyo office worker accidentally obtains a photo of the sheep and becomes a target of the yakuza. Accompanied by his girlfriend, he embarks on a sheep-hunting adventure. In the snowy wilderness of Hokkaido, he finally reaches the photographer in the photo—not, however, the living person, but only his ghost, because the friend nicknamed "Rat" has already perished alongside the source of evil. The third installment of Murakami Haruki's "Youth Trilogy," it opens the door to new Japanese literature with its unique blend of reality and fantasy.