ID :
64528
Sat, 06/06/2009 - 21:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/64528
The shortlink copeid
New Murakami novel becomes huge, instant hit
TOKYO, June 6 Kyodo -
Japanese readers hungry for a new book by internationally acclaimed novelist
Haruki Murakami have been flocking to bookstores, making his first work in five
years an instant bestseller.
A total of 960,000 copies have been sold by Saturday for the two-volume series
''1Q84'' since it went on sale on May 29. The story inspired by George Orwell's
''1984'' has disappeared quickly from bookstore shelves and its publisher is
scrambling to make additional copies.
Shinchosha Publishing Co. said the number already surpassed Murakami's previous
novel published in 2002 by the company, ''Umibe no Kafka'' (Kafka on the
Shore), which sold a combined 738,000 copies for two volumes.
This time, Shinchosha printed 200,000 copies of ''Book 1'' of ''1Q84'' and
180,000 for ''Book 2,'' only to have to scramble for five straight business
days to print additional copies after receiving what an official of the company
described as a ''tremendous reception.''
The publisher had only announced the novel's name and price -- 1,890 yen for
each of the two volumes -- as well as the date of its release on its website
and in newspaper ads without giving any clues to the story. And such an
advertising approach appears to have paid off.
''When we published 'Umibe no Kafka,' quite a few people told us that they
wanted to read (new) books by Mr. Murakami without any advance knowledge, so
this time we discussed it with him and decided to give them nothing,'' the
Shinchosha official said.
Murakami's books have been translated into about 40 different languages and
have garnered acclaim globally, with the 60-year-old having won such foreign
literary honors as the Jerusalem Prize and the Franz Kafka award. His name has
been floated as a future Novel Prize laureate.
Mitsuyoshi Numano, a Tokyo University professor and noted critic in literature,
said he thinks the hit of ''1Q84'' resulted from a combination of Murakami's
growing accolades overseas and the advertising tactics.
''He had not released a full-length novel of this kind for a while and his
international fame has grown significantly in recent years, creating high
expectations for his new work,'' Numano said. ''Then the idea of keeping the
story secret won big.''
==Kyodo
Japanese readers hungry for a new book by internationally acclaimed novelist
Haruki Murakami have been flocking to bookstores, making his first work in five
years an instant bestseller.
A total of 960,000 copies have been sold by Saturday for the two-volume series
''1Q84'' since it went on sale on May 29. The story inspired by George Orwell's
''1984'' has disappeared quickly from bookstore shelves and its publisher is
scrambling to make additional copies.
Shinchosha Publishing Co. said the number already surpassed Murakami's previous
novel published in 2002 by the company, ''Umibe no Kafka'' (Kafka on the
Shore), which sold a combined 738,000 copies for two volumes.
This time, Shinchosha printed 200,000 copies of ''Book 1'' of ''1Q84'' and
180,000 for ''Book 2,'' only to have to scramble for five straight business
days to print additional copies after receiving what an official of the company
described as a ''tremendous reception.''
The publisher had only announced the novel's name and price -- 1,890 yen for
each of the two volumes -- as well as the date of its release on its website
and in newspaper ads without giving any clues to the story. And such an
advertising approach appears to have paid off.
''When we published 'Umibe no Kafka,' quite a few people told us that they
wanted to read (new) books by Mr. Murakami without any advance knowledge, so
this time we discussed it with him and decided to give them nothing,'' the
Shinchosha official said.
Murakami's books have been translated into about 40 different languages and
have garnered acclaim globally, with the 60-year-old having won such foreign
literary honors as the Jerusalem Prize and the Franz Kafka award. His name has
been floated as a future Novel Prize laureate.
Mitsuyoshi Numano, a Tokyo University professor and noted critic in literature,
said he thinks the hit of ''1Q84'' resulted from a combination of Murakami's
growing accolades overseas and the advertising tactics.
''He had not released a full-length novel of this kind for a while and his
international fame has grown significantly in recent years, creating high
expectations for his new work,'' Numano said. ''Then the idea of keeping the
story secret won big.''
==Kyodo
