For the midnight publication of Haruki Murakami’s first book in six years, dozens of eager readers lined up in front of a bookshop in Tokyo on Thursday.
The entrance of the Kinokuniya bookstore in the heart of Shinjuku area was lined with tables covered with copies of “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” a book that is now only available in Japanese.
Shunsuke Mitsumoto was one of the first readers of Murakami’s most recent book. Murakami has a cult following for his bizarre novels that are liberally sprinkled with pop culture allusions.
“When I go home, I want to read it. I will probably read the whole book in one sitting, despite my desire to savor each phrase, the 39-year-old told AFP.
Murakami reader Mitsumoto remarked, “I’m pleased to believe that this novel will transport us to a new world again.
“Killing Commendatore,” Murakami’s previous book, was released in February 2017.
The internationally popular author is well recognized for his nuanced stories on the absurdity and loneliness of modern life, which have been translated into nearly 50 different languages.
Murakami said that he wrote the book while living in self-isolation during the coronavirus epidemic in a statement made public by publisher Shinchosha before to the publication of the new book.
In his customarily enigmatic manner, the 74-year-old characterized his creative process as having been “much as a ‘dream reader’ reads a ‘ancient dream’ in a library.”
Murakami, whose most well-known books include “Norwegian Wood” and “Kafka on the Sea,” is a reclusive author who is often predicted to win the Nobel Prize.
Chikako Muramatsu, a 28-year-old admirer, said the author was “liked by a broad spectrum of individuals” at the early-morning gathering on Thursday.
There are a lot of admirers who seem to be from my parents’ age, but there are also a lot of Haruki lovers from my generation, she remarked.
Yuji Katayama, 54, claimed to be a devoted follower.
“I feel like the characters in his stories are making me become older. I sympathize with them,” he remarked.
“His books are my textbooks, in my opinion. Reading his writings exposes me to new things, such as his familiarity with international literature.
