TOKYO March 2 (US): A new novel by Haruki Murakami will be published in April, and the publisher has said little about it except that the Japanese manuscript is about 1,200 pages long and that the plot includes “a story that was sealed long ago.”
“The City and Its Uncertain Walls” will be released on April 13 in both print and digital formats, Shinshusha Publishing said in a statement. The availability of the English translation is not yet known. AP reports.
In a brief, succinct teaser, the publisher said, “You gotta go to town. No matter what happens. The locked ‘story’ begins to move quietly as if ‘old dreams’ have awakened and unfolded in a secluded archive.”
She added that the book is “100% pure Murakami’s soul-stirring world”.
People at the publisher said that details about the plot have been withheld because many Murakami fans say they’d rather start reading his books without knowing what they’re all about.
It is unknown if the new novel is related to Murakami’s 1980 story of the same title which was published in a literary magazine but not released as a book.
The novel is Murakami’s first since the release of “Kishidancho Joroshi” or “Killing Commendatore” in February 2017.
The 74-year-old Murakami, a perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature, published his first book, Hear the Wind Sing, in 1979 while running a jazz bar in Tokyo. His 1987 romance novel Norwegian Wood became his first bestseller, establishing him as a young literary star.
Known for his magic realism, Murakami has also written bestsellers such as “A Wild Sheep Chase,” “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle,” and “1Q84.” His latest work, “Killing Commendatore,” has sold over a million copies.
A library dedicated to Murakami’s writings, scrapbooks, and recording collection opened in 2021 at his alma mater, Waseda University, in Tokyo as a place for literary research and cultural exchange and a gathering place for his fans.
Murakami is an avid music collector who appreciates genres ranging from classical to jazz and rock, and music serves as an important motif in many of his stories.
Since 2018, Murakami has hosted “Radio Murakami” on Radio Tokyo FM, where he plays some of his favorite music and occasionally provides humorous commentary and music trivia. He also sometimes spoke out against political leaders.