Murakami to publish first new novel in six years

Details of the plot were kept under wraps to respect Murakami's desire for "readers to discover it without knowing anything beforehand", Shinchosha said at the time.

let me a hazard a guess: cats are involved, as is jilted love, jazz and suicide,

let me a hazard a guess: cats are involved, as is jilted love, jazz and suicide

Are those what he often writes about? I’ve only read “Norwegian Wood” so I don’t know.

Did he run out of money? I can't wait to read it!

There will be lots of sex but no passion involved.

Hope it makes more sense than the last book

I enjoy reading his novels, but when I’m finished, I’m always left feeling,”meh”.

The atmosphere of his short stories are amazing, though!

Loved all his novels. Hard Boiled Wonderland is my favourite, although A Wild Sheep Chase comes a close second. I got some way into 羊をめぐる冒険 but it was hard going for my level of Japanese.

Looking forward the English translation of the new book!

I wasted my time with some of his novels, never again. Funny thing is, this is the effect he's probably looking for..

One of the most overrated authors ever.

Excellent, great news..

Yawn.

Ryu Murakami is far superior

Making himself “relevant” for a last-ditch bid for the now truly diminished Nobel prize for “literature”.

A poor imitator of the American style. Chewing gum for the brain. Instantly forgotten as soon as the novel is over.

There never seems to be a point or ending to his stories. They just meander along and then end a lot of the time. I still end up reading them though.

The protagonist will be aloof and emotionally detached. The relationships will be superficial, the dialogue banal and humorless.

Fans will meet in a Showa-era watering hole to celebrate the release, and TV networks will cover the event.

A poor imitator of the American style.

Of a certain American style, specifically one exemplified by Hemingway, Paul Bowles, Richard Yates, and Raymond Carver.

They were all far more interesting though.

Murakami is so intriguing. After reading

@plasticmonkey: Yes, I was taking shortcuts for the sake of a certain pithiness. I certainly didn't mean all American writing.