His life was like a recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that when uncovered they improve sex a thousand-fold a runaway friend a right-wing politico an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit implicate them in a hunt for a sheep that may or may not be running the world and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist.