Readers eager to lay their hands on the new novel by Japan’s Haruki Murakami have only a few hours to wait until they get their latest fix of one of modern literature’s most talked-about authors. At least one major bookstore in Tokyo is flinging open its doors at midnight to cater to the dema-nds of the most dedicated acolytes of the surrealist.
Other major outlets are planning to open early on Friday to meet the expected surge in demand.
“Readers in Japan have craved a new book from him for so long,” said Yuta Takahashi of Daikanyama T-Site bookstore in Tokyo, which is hosting the late-night launch. So far, excited Harukists have been told virtually nothing abo-ut the book they are expected to begin devouring on Friday, bar its Japanese-only title: Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi.
An unofficial translation renders it: Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and the Year of his Pilgrimage.
Beyond that, there is a void. But the secrecy surrounding the release, Murakami’s first in three years, has not prevented it racing up the book charts.
Online giant Amazon Japan had taken 20,000 pre-orders by the weekend and publisher Bungeishunju said its initial print run would be an astonishing 500,000 copies — roughly one for every 250 people in Japan. — AFP