Book Buzz: New Murakami Novel Causes Stir

[and-justice-for-all]

I have never heard of this guy before, anyone have a clue?
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A Hit New Novel That's a Secret
Book Buzz: New Murakami Novel Causes Stir
by Claudine Zap

26 hours ago

The plot is a tightly held secret. The title gives no clue. And that, just like "Harry Potter" buzz, is the nifty marketing formula to make the newest Haruki Murakami tome a hit in Japan—before it's even hit the shelves.

Except unlike the boy-wizard series, this author writes esoteric epics like "The Wind-up Bird Chronicles" and "Kafka on the Shore." Not exactly the stuff of summer blockbusters. According to the AP, the popular Japanese writer is a ringer for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. Just to be clear, this is also the country that brought us "Godzilla" and "Hello, Kitty."

Although a marketing campaign to sell a literary novel seems contrived, it's actually in response to the last time the author released a book, five years ago. Fans complained that the impact of the novel was diminished by too much press coverage, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

This time around, it's very hush-hush—and the secrecy has only fueled pre-order book sales. The publisher had to rush another 100,000 copies into print to keep up with the reading frenzy. Theories abound on the title, the not very helpful "1Q84." An homage to George Orwell's "1984?" One thing's for sure: The writer's not talking.

Maybe the bookworms will celebrate the novel's arrival by dressing up as their favorite characters and showing up at bookstores at midnight. While there's no telling when the book will be translated into English, who knows—a movie based on the book could already be in the works. Take that, wizard boy.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92617?fp=1

[Gabi Hayes]

1. ok: