READY to set sail in a new Murakami-verse?
Internationally-acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami is set to publish a new novel six years after his most recent book, the historical fiction Killing Commendatore.
In a website listing, Murakami’s publisher, Shinchosa, announced that the best-selling author’s new work will be available on April 13.
The publisher also said the book will initially be published in Japanese, similar to previous Murakami novels, with translated versions following right after. However, it did not specify when the translations will be released.
While additional details regarding the forthcoming novel remain unknown, including its title, genre, and synopsis, fans can now pre-order the physical and digital copies of the book through the publisher’s website.
This new book from Murakami will be 1,200 pages long and will sell at JPY 2,970 or approximately PHP 1,200.
The ‘Murakami World’
The 72-year-old Kyoto-born novelist has been heavily influenced by Western art and music, which have materialized in most of the novels and short stories he has written.
His titles, which have been translated into more than 50 different languages, fall under science fiction, fantasy, historical, and crime fiction categories.
Due to his ingenious use of magical realism in most of his books, fans often refer to Murakami’s settings as “Murakami world.” They immerse in a fictitious universe with giant talking frogs, fishes falling from the sky, and people magically disappearing to another world.
Murakami is best known for his works Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, A Wild Sheep Chase, and After Dark.
The author has also won numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize in 2006, Yomiuri Prize for Literature: Fiction in 1995, Kiriyama Prize for Fiction in 2007, and Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award in 2006 to list a few.
One of his short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, has been adapted into an animated feature film and will land in theaters in March.
READ: New Murakami novel adaptation coming to theaters in March
