The latter approach, which incorporates elements of magic realism, science fiction and Japanese mythology, reached an apogee of sorts with his most recent novel, the three-volume 1Q84, which by turns mesmerised and baffled with its bewildering and, in places, disturbing plot. What does that brand deliver that has made it such a worldwide literary phenomenon? And, more problematically, what impact, if any, does Murakami's huge global popularity have on his writing? Has the seemingly effortless invention of his earlier fiction become a kind of signature that now comes close to formula? The intriguingly titled Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage goes some way towards answering the first of these questions, but leaves the other two hanging in the air.Įssentially, Murakami writes two kinds of novels: the deftly delineated personal odyssey of self-discovery narrative – Norwegian Wood, South of the Border, West of the Sun (both 2000) – and the more ambitiously plotted, often supernaturally shaded, epic shaggy dog story – A Wild Sheep Chase (1989), Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1991), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1997). Though not quite in the Harry Potter league, a new Murakami novel is now an event.Īs evinced by the use of his surname alone on this new book, Murakami is now also a global brand. On the evening before its release, queues began forming in bookshops in Tokyo and, a week after its publication, the book had been reprinted eight times, with sales of more than 1m copies. In February 2013, when the Japanese publication date of his latest novel was announced, the pre-order sales alone made it the fastest-selling book ever on Amazon Japan, where the first hardback edition numbered 300,000.

Haruki Murakami is unique among contemporary novelists insofar as he has somehow managed to remain a cult writer while selling millions of copies of his books both in his native Japan and in the many countries where his novels are now read in translation.

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