Haruki Murakami
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Protecting Murakami’s Library Card
Fifty years ago, a kid named Haruki Murakami borrowed books from his school library in Kobe, Japan. This week, the Kobe Shimbun, a local paper, published a list of the books he checked out, as compiled on book checkout slips—and Japanese…
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Nintendo IQ84
The world is a horrible place, full of bleak scenes and ghastly characters. Fill your eyeballs instead with the infinitely more appealing magical realist world of this Murakami-inspired video game.
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
Japanese bookseller Kinokuniya Co. plans on increasing the number of direct purchases made from publishers to avoid wholesalers’ markups. The store previously bought most of the stock of Murakami’s latest essay collection to compete against online sales. Burlesque dancers danced…
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This Week in Short Fiction
Imagine a world in the late 21st century: countries are underwater from the rising oceans, Europeans have become refugees, and a mathematical formula has been discovered that explains the entire universe, the applications of which include human flight (sans airplane)…
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
The famed Parisian English-language bookstore Shakespeare and Company is set to open a cafe. The shop is partnering with New York restauranteur Marc Grossman, the man responsible for introducing juice cleansing to Paris. The Alabama Booksmith sells only signed copies.…
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Japanese Bookstore Beats Amazon to the Punch
In what can aptly be described as a preemptive strike against online retailers like Amazon, major Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya bought up to 90% of the first print run of Haruki Murakami’s latest book of essays, Novelist as a Vocation. A…
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Talking Cats and Didacticism
I must be missing something. Mustn’t I? Sam Jordison, for the Guardian’s reading group, has dived into Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore and promptly landed in shallow water. Possibly too relatable for some of us, Jordison shares his frustrations over Murakami’s…
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Mixed Media
Music and literature make a pretty good pair. Check out this guide, recently updated to include all of the music referenced in Haruki Murakami’s novels (and then go read them).
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The Rumpus Interview with Jay Rubin
Author and translator Jay Rubin talks about his new novel, The Sun Gods, translating Haruki Murakami into English, and the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II.
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Murakami’s Starting Pitch
The satisfying crack when the bat met the ball resounded throughout Jingu Stadium. Scattered applause rose around me. In that instant, for no reason and on no grounds whatsoever, the thought suddenly struck me: I think I can write a…
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The Rumpus Interview with Sean Wilsey
Sean Wilsey discusses his latest book of essays, More Curious, being David Foster Wallace’s neighbor, the healing power of the American road trip, and the difference between writing fiction and memoir.
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Murakami Plays Dear Abby
“There’s no use of me singing ‘I can’t stop loooooooving you’ to you, I suppose.” We beg to differ, Haruki: The Rumpus would love to hear your crooning Ray Charles rendition. Alas, author Haruki Murakami hasn’t serenaded us yet, but…