Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Posing with Tazaki – Do they really buy it because they like it?

TV program studying how posing with Murakami's latest book gives your image a boost, and maybe even gets you the girl ... Normally when you buy a book in a Japanese book store, they put a paper cover on it, but people seem to enjoy walking about with Tazaki Tsukuru in their hand, "naked".

Monday, April 29, 2013

A report about the book's release in Turkish


Japonların Murakami çılgınlığı

14.04.2013 00:46:59

Japon yazarın üç yıl sonra yazdığı yeni romanı ülkesinde 500 bin baskıyla piyasaya verildikten saatler sonra 100 binlik bir baskı daha yaptı.


Haruki Murakami’nin Japonya’da cuma günü piyasaya verilen yeni kitabı “Renksiz Tsukuru Tazaki ve Onun Hacılık Yılları”, kitabevlerinin önünde yüzlerce kişilik kuyruklar oluşmasına neden oldu.

Gazete ve televizyonlar, adı dışında içeriği son ana kadar gizli tutulan kitapla ilgili ilk değerlendirmeleri yayımlamak için yarışırken cuma sabahı Japon devlet televizyonu NHK’dan bir gazeteci “sürükleyici” kitabın yarısına geldiğini, Micniko Mamuro adlı bir kitabevi çalışanı ise birkaç saatte kitabın 370 sayfasını bir çırpıda okuduğunu söyledi.

Mamuro, kitabın arka fonunu Mart 2011 depremi, tsunami ve nükleer erimenin oluşturduğunu anlattı. Asahi Shimbun’a verdiği demeçte “Murakami’nin felaketle doğrudan yüzleştiği izlenimini edindiğini” belirten Namuro, “Kitap güçlü mesajlar ve yüreklendirici sözcüklerle dolu,” dedi.

Asahei Shimbun’da yayımlanan daha önceki bir değerlendirmeye göre roman, kaybetme ve yalıtılmışlık duygusunun üstesinden gelmeye çalışan bir adamın hikâyesini anlatıyor. Romanın kahramanı Tsukuru Tazaki lisede adları farklı renkleri temsil eden dört yakın arkadaş edinmiştir. Onun isminde ise renk yoktur ve üniversitede arkadaşları tarafından reddedilir. Artık 36 yaşındaki boş, renksiz hayatını gözden geçirmektedir. Kitap, “Tsukuru Tazaki, üniversitedeki ikinci yılının temmuzundan, sonraki yılın ocak ayına kadar çoğunlukla ölüm hakkında düşünerek yaşadı” cümlesiyle açılıyor.

Eleştirmen Chiaki Yoshimura, romanın Murakami’nin ünlü “1Q84”ünün “güçlü kişiliklerinden” yoksun olduğunu ancak hayatını geri almaya çalışırken geçmişinde maruz kaldığı travmaların üstesinden gelmeye çalışan Tazaki’yle empati kurduğunu” yazdı.

Reuters’ın haberine göre yayınevi Bungeishunjū’nun 500 binlik ilk baskısına piyasaya çıkışından sonraki saatler içinde 100 bin kopya daha eklediği kitabın Japonya’da listelerin ilk sıralarına yerleşmesi bekleniyor. Kitap halen Amazon.co.jp’nin çok satanlar listesinin en üst basamağına yükselmiş durumda.

Murakami’nin romanı hakkında önceden herhangi bir bilgi vermeme taktiği– “1Q84”ün 2009’da piyasaya çıktığı ilk ay 1 milyon satmasını sağlamıştı–daha önce eleştirilere neden olmuştu.

Kitabın kapağında yer alan bir alıntıda Murakami yeni romanın nasıl ortaya çıktığına kendisinin de şaşırdığını belirtiyor ve “Bir gün içimden geldi ve masama oturup bu hikâyenin ilk satırlarını yazmaya başladım. Sonra yaklaşık altı ay ne olacağını, ne tip insanların ortaya çıkacağını ve ne kadar süreceğini bilmeden yazmaya devam ettim,” diyor.

“Renksiz Tsukuru Tazaki”nin İngilizce çevirisinin yayın tarihi konusunda bir duyuru yapılmadı.
(Guardian)
http://kitap.radikal.com.tr/Preview/352320-yazdir

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Let's enjoy this Murakamifest, says Chiaki Ishihara, professor of Japanese literature from Waseda University


5月号 早稲田大学教授・石原千秋 祭りをもっと楽しもう

2013.4.28 08:18 
この1カ月は村上春樹祭りだった。新作『色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年』(文芸春秋)は瞬く間に100万部を刷り、それでも品薄だという。僕もこのお祭りに指のさきっちょぐらいは参加したが、こういうお祭りを横目でにらみながらわざわざ顔をしかめてみせる「文化人」もいる。この出版不況にお祭りの1つや2つぐらいあった方がいいではないかというのが、僕の考えだ。肩の力を抜いて、もっと文学を楽しみたいものだ。
 『色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年』は村上春樹テイスト満載である。比喩表現の多さ、会話における鸚鵡(おうむ)返しの多さ、それでいて気の利いた会話、主人公の導き役として現れる女性、丁寧な描写、登場人物のハイブローな趣味のよさ、放置されるエピソードの多さなどなど、これまでの春樹ワールドの集大成と言っていいかもしれない。
 この小説では、名古屋で過ごした高校時代の5人の仲間のうち、多崎つくるの名字にだけ色が入っていない。そして、多崎つくるだけが東京の大学に進学して、2年生の夏に彼だけが急にのけ者にされる。36歳になった彼は、つき合っている木元沙羅に促されてその理由を知るための旅に出る。いわば自分探しの旅である。これが、村上春樹の朋友と言っていい柴田元幸が訳したポール・オースター『幽霊たち』(新潮文庫)の、村上春樹流の作り直しであることはすぐにわかる。実際、作中で「幽霊」という言葉が何度か使われている。『幽霊たち』の登場人物は、ブルー、ホワイト、ブラックという色の名前を与えられ、探偵のブルーがホワイトからブラックの見張りを依頼されるが、実はブラックこそがブルー自身だったように読める。自分探しの物語=寓話(ぐうわ)なのである。そして、自分とは名前そのものだと言っていい。だから、『色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年』は名前をめぐる物語なのである。

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Different takes on colors in the Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki start appearing as readers try to puzzle out their significance

                        http://blog.livedoor.jp/tetsuzu/archives/6452859.html



http://www.ryoshimizu.net/portfolio/tasaki01

another article in Spanish from Argentina


EL DIA, April 21, 2013

Haruki Murakami: el nuevo peregrino  


Tras tres años de silencio, el aclamado escritor japonés Haruki Murakami regresó esta semana a las librerías de Japón con su nueva obra, “El descolorido Tsukuru Tazaki y sus años de peregrinación”, un viaje introspectivo en busca del pasado.
“Desde julio de su segundo año universitario, hasta enero del año siguiente, Tsukuru Tazaki vivía casi todo el tiempo pensando solo en morir”. Con estas contundentes palabras, traducidas del nipón, arranca la esperada nueva novela de Murakami (Kioto, 1949), un escritor venerado por millones de lectores de todo el mundo.
A través de sus 367 páginas, el libro, publicado por la editorial nipona Bungei Shunju, narra la historia de Tsukuru, un arquitecto de 36 años que trabaja diseñando estaciones de tren en la inabarcable y multitudinaria Tokio.
El protagonista lleva a cabo un peregrinaje no solo introspectivo sino físico, al regresar a su ciudad natal, a las afueras de Nagoya (centro del país), para reconciliarse con su grupo de amigos, que comparten entre ellos la particularidad de tener apellidos que representan colores.
Tras terminar el instituto, Tsukuru, el único del grupo “descolorido” (sin un apellido que simbolice un color), marcha a Tokio para estudiar en la universidad, en donde al poco tiempo comienza a notar el incomprensible rechazo de sus amigos, lo que le provoca un profundo sentimiento de pérdida y aislamiento.
Afligido, el protagonista se embarca en una búsqueda personal, un peregrinaje con el que pretende descifrar el motivo de ese rechazo y lograr, de este modo, devolverle el sentido a su existencia.
Al igual que el resto de novelas del escritor, de 64 años, la publicación de su nueva obra ha provocado un gran revuelo en las librerías del país, donde ha salido con una tirada inicial de medio millón de ejemplares en cuatro ediciones.
En Tokio, una avalancha de seguidores de Murakami se acercaron a partir de la medianoche del jueves a la librería Tsutaya en el barrio de Daikanyama ávidos por ser los primeros en hacerse con este nuevo libro cuya distribución comenzó con una cuenta atrás.
Además, algunos establecimientos de la capital, como la cadena Kinokuniya, abrieron antes de lo habitual, donde los madrugadores se encontraron con centenares de ejemplares cuya singular portada muestra velas de diferentes colores, en referencia a los nombres de los amigos del protagonista de la historia.
“Shikisaiwo motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to kareno junreino toshi”, título original en japonés, ha logrado además convertirse en la novela de Murakami más reservada por internet en Japón y alcanzar, solo en el portal de ventas Amazon, la cifra de 20.000 reservas.
El libro, que salió a la venta a un precio de 1.785 yenes (13,7 euros), llega después de que Murakami publicara entre 2009 y 2010 su enrevesada trilogía “1Q84”, convertida en un fenómeno literario al igual que otras de sus obras como “Kafka en la orilla” y sobre todo “Tokio Blues (Norwegian Wood)”, traducido a 36 idiomas y con una versión cinematográfica estrenada en 2010.
Amante de la música, en especial del jazz, el conjunto de suites para piano “Années de Pèlerinage (del francés “Años de peregrinaje”), del compositor magiar Franz Liszt, le sirven en esta ocasión a Murakami para poner ritmo y narrar el viaje de Tsukuru.
El escritor, que acostumbra a ser esquivo y a no conceder entrevistas o asistir a actos públicos, encabezó en 2012 de nuevo las quinielas para hacerse con el Nobel de Literatura y fue también finalista al Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Letras. Con la nueva obra publicada en Japón, de la que aún se desconoce la fecha concreta de salida para el mercado internacional, el escritor y traductor japonés ha publicado en total trece novelas y numerosos relatos y ensayos. El último libro en traducirse al español fue “Después del terremoto” (2013), publicado en Japón en el 2000, y que recoge un conjunto de relatos sobre el terremoto que en 1995 asoló la ciudad nipona costera de Kobe, en la que Murakami vivió la mayor parte de su niñez hasta que se mudó a Tokio para estudiar en la universidad de Waseda.

http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20130421/Haruki-Murakami-nuevo-peregrino-septimodia5.htm

Friday, April 26, 2013

and in Polish...


W tydzień po premierze nakład nowej powieści Murakamiego przekroczył milion egzemplarzy

wczoraj, 10:05Booklips.pl
Japoński wydawca Harukiego Murakamiego musi być w siódmym niebie. Najnowsza powieść pisarza ma bowiem szansę stać się jednym z najszybciej sprzedających się bestsellerów ostatnich kilku lat na całym świecie. To pokazuje także polskim czytelnikom, którzy uwielbiają Murakamiego, jak wielką popularnością cieszy się literatura w innych krajach.

Dom wydawniczy Bungeishunju Ltd. obwieścił, że w tydzień od premiery, która miała miejsce 12 kwietnia, drukarnie opuścił milionowy egzemplarz powieści. Pierwszy nakład książki wynosił 500 tysięcy egzemplarzy, ale popyt wciąż rósł, a zamówienia z przedsprzedaży na Amazonie osiągnęły rekordową liczbę, dlatego szybko zdecydowano się na dodruk 300 tysięcy sztuk. W czwartek 18 kwietnia dodrukowano kolejne 200 tysięcy, co dało powieści okrągły milion egzemplarzy wydrukowanych i wysłanych do księgarń oraz dystrybutorów.
Nadal nie ma oficjalnych danych o rzeczywistej wielkości sprzedaży, ale rzecznik wydawcy twierdzi, że w ciągu zaledwie trzech pierwszych dni czytelnicy kupili 350 tysięcy egzemplarzy powieści. Liczba ta nie powinna dziwić, jeśli weźmie się pod uwagę ogromną popularność, jaką cieszy się w Kraju Kwitnącej Wiśni Murakami.

 Kolejki po książkę w japońskich księgarniach przypominały czasy, gdy na rynek wchodziły kolejne tomy przygód Harry’ego Pottera – w kilku miejscach sprzedaż ruszała już o północy, z głośnym odliczaniem do momentu premiery. Zdaniem niektórych księgarzy zainteresowanie powieścią Murakamiego potęguje zapewne fakt, że szczegóły fabuły udało się utrzymać w ścisłej tajemnicy.
"Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi" (z jap. "Tsukuru Tazaki, który nie ma kolorów, i jego rok pielgrzymki") to 370-stronicowa opowieść o człowieku, który próbuje poradzić sobie z bolesną przeszłością przy pomocy swej nowej miłości. Szczegóły fabuły możecie poznać klikając tutaj. Na polską premierę powieści przyjdzie nam zapewne trochę poczekać. Sprzedaż praw do publikacji na obce rynki miała rozpocząć się dopiero w zeszłym tygodniu.

http://kultura.onet.pl/wiadomosci/w-tydzien-po-premierze-naklad-nowej-powiesci-murak,1,5476282,artykul.html

and in Italian ...


Il nuovo romanzo di Murakami Haruki (1)

  Tazaki Tsukuru. Cognome e nome, nell’ordine che in giapponese mette la famiglia prima della scelta. Suo padre ha destinato a lui queste tre sillabe “tsu-ku-ru” e ne ha fatto un kanji che è proprio quello che significa “costruire, edificare, fabbricare”. 「作」. Un nome che è un presagio.
  Tsukuru è affascinato fin da bambino dalle stazioni, sia da quelle delle grandi città che accolgono treni gonfi di gente sia da quelle che collegano piccole località di campagna dove il tempo sfuma pigro tra un transito e un altro. Si siede lì Tsukuru, e resta ore ad osservare il diverso traffico di gente che aspetta, sale, scende e se ne va.

  
  È l’unica cosa che sa fare. Costruire, progettare, risolvere problemi e migliorare quel microcosmo che è la stazione. Tutto il resto sembra sfuggirgli di mano. L’amore, le amicizie, la stessa coscienza di sè.
  Ha trentasei anni, è in buona salute, discretamente attraente, è un tipo pulito, non beve e non fuma, ha un lavoro che lo soddisfa, una buona fama nell’ambiente, una casa di proprietà in un bel quartiere di Tokyo. Ciò che ha minato la sua sicurezza e che lo rende l’ombra di se stesso, è un avvenimento accaduto sedici anni prima. Un fatto scioccante che lo ha portato sull’orlo della morte e di cui lui, ancora adesso, non conosce la ragione.

  Negli anni del liceo Tsukuru faceva parte di un gruppo dicinque amici, affiatati ed uniti come capita raramente nella vita. Si erano incontrati ad un campo estivo di volontariato cui, casualmente, avevano aderito solo loro: Tazaki Tsukuru, Akamatsu Kei, Oumi Yoshio, Shirane Yuzuki, Kurono Eri. Tre ragazzi e due ragazze.

  I punti in comune tra di loro erano tanti. Erano tutti originari di Nagoya, le loro famiglie erano più o meno benestanti, erano brillanti.
  Con il tempo il rapporto tra i cinque si era irrobustito, inspessito, cementificato. Quel circolo privato ed esclusivo divenne per ognuno di loro qualcosa di irrununciabile, una presenza quotidiana che li rendeva l’uno assolutamenteindispensabile all’altro


Full story here:
http://www.giapponemonamour.com/2013/04/il-nuovo-romanzo-di-murakami-haruki-1.html

Article about Murakami in Vietnamese


Chiến thuật bán sách’ của Murakami

Bí mật nội dung đến phút chót là yếu tố góp phần đưa doanh số tiêu thụ cuốn “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” lên hơn 1 triệu bản chỉ sau 1 tuần phát hành.
Cuốn tiểu thuyết mới nhất của Haruki Murakami tiếp tục trở thành hiện tượng của ngành xuất bản Nhật. Hơn 1 triệu bản “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki” đã được bán hết sau tuần đầu tiên. Tác phẩm ra mắt vào 12/4.
Japan Times nhận định, bên cạnh "thương hiệu Haruki Murakami", một yếu tố quan trọng khiến cuốn sách bán chạy là chiến thuật giữ kín thông tin của nhà xuất bản. Murakami mất 3 năm để hoàn thành cuốn sách. Trong thời gian đó, nhà xuất bản Bungeishunju Ltd. không tiết lộ trước bất cứ thông tin gì về nội dung “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki” ngoại trừ tên tác giả và tên sách. Vài ngày trước khi cuốn tiểu thuyết ra mắt, sách được chuyển đến cửa hàng trên những chiếc thùng đóng kín, tránh hiện tượng rò rỉ trang bìa trước thời điểm phát hành chính thức.

Chiến thuật này đã kích thích tối đa sự tò mò của độc giả. Chính Bungeishunju thừa nhận: “Chúng tôi hạn chế tiết lộ thông tin vì không muốn sự võ đoán của các nhà phê bình ảnh hưởng đến độc giả khi họ đọc sách. Chúng tôi học được cách này từ nhà xuất bản Shinchosha khi họ ra mắt “1Q84’”, Kotaro Kashiwabara, giám đốc tiếp thị của Bungeishunju nói.
Năm 2010, khi Shinchosha ấn hành "1Q84" của Murakami, họ cũng giữ hoàn toàn bí mật về cuốn sách trước thời điểm ra mắt. Trước đó, nhà xuất bản các tập truyện Harry Potter của J.K. Rowling đã áp dụng triệt để chiến thuật này.
Japanese-readers-flip-thr-010-jpg-136688
Độc giả Nhật vây quanh các cuốn sách của Murakami.
[...]
“Ấn tượng đầu tiên của tôi là nó như một cuốn sách ‘hậu Rừng Nauy’, rất dễ đọc. Thật tuyệt vì tác giả đã không viết phức tạp, rối rắm, nó dành cho độc giả đại chúng”, một độc giả tên là Nakamura nhận xét sau khi đọc cuốn sách.
Huyền Anh
Full story here: 

... and a funny little short film


Another video from the unveiling of the book


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Japan Times reports:


Mystery, loss fuel Murakami sales

Novel's initial secrecy, story's ties to 3/11 spur huge success
KYODO

Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage,” has been a phenomenal success for the nation’s lackluster publishing market, selling more than 1 million copies in just the first seven days after its April 12 release.

One key element was a marketing tactic that kept information about the book secret. This created a huge sense of anticipation among potential readers three years after Murakami’s previous novel.
Some observers also say the book’s theme overlaps with the sense of loss that permeated Japan in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Led by “Norwegian Wood,” which sold about 11.16 million copies, including in paperback, all of Murakami’s major works have bested the 1 million threshold.
Japan’s book market has been mired in a slump over the last few years, with only one title having sold more than 1 million copies last year — “Kiku Chikara” (“The Power of Listening”) by essayist and TV personality Sawako Agawa.
Over the past few years, just a few other titles accomplished the feat, including Naoki Hyakuta’s “Kaizoku to Yobareta Otoko” (“The Man Who Was Called a Pirate”), which won this year’s Honya Taisho award chosen by bookstores.
Bungeishunju Ltd., the publisher of Murakami’s latest work, initially did not disclose any information about the much-anticipated novel. It slowly revealed tidbits, including the title and the themes of the novel, beginning in mid-February. The tactic piqued readers’ curiosity.
“We limited the information because we wanted people to read the work without prejudice. We learned from the tactic taken by Shinchosha Publishing Co. when it released ’1Q84,’ ” said Kotaro Kashiwabara, head of book promotion at Bungeishunju, referring to Murakami’s previous novel, which was released in April 2010.
Fans responded to such “deprivation.”
Kunio Nakamura, who runs Rokujigen, a cafe in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where ardent Murakami fans congregate, said he tried to imagine the contents of the novel when only its title was known.
“There is an element of a game here, and the whole phenomenon surrounding the book (release) felt like entertainment,” Nakamura said.
Just after midnight on April 12, when the sales embargo was lifted, some people were seen reading copies on a street outside a Tsutaya bookstore in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo, while the social-networking service Twitter was abuzz with fans’ thoughts on the long-awaited story.
The novel has also brought business to bookstores in the disaster-hit Tohoku area. Naoko Nishikiori, store manager of the Bookboy main branch in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, was delighted with the results, saying that “many people came to the store to buy the book.” The store fully reopened in February after its former building was washed away in the tsunami.
Some small bookstores, however, had trouble keeping their shelves stocked with the new novel.
“The book was sold out by the evening of the release date, but it was hard to get information on future shipments,” one manager at a Tokyo store said.
Megumi Ushikubo, a writer who specializes in marketing, commented on why people snapped up the new release.
“If they get a new book by Mr. Murakami, who is also popular outside Japan, they can boast to their worldwide audience on Facebook the fact that they have already read it,” Ushikubo said. “It looks like many young people read it in order to have something in common to talk about with others.”
The book tells the story of 36-year-old railway company employee Tsukuru Tazaki, who is psychologically scarred when he is rejected by four of his close friends during high school 16 years ago. To find out the reasons for his rejection, Tazaki travels to his hometown of Nagoya and even to Finland in the hope of making a fresh start in life.
“My impression (of the novel) was like it was post-’Norwegian Wood’ and it was easy to read. It’s great that the author did not make it a complicated piece of work, but wrote it for a wide audience,” said cafe owner Nakamura. “It is also fitting for a time when everyone is feeling the subconscious sense of loss after the Tohoku disaster.”
Literary critic Yoshinori Shimizu, who lives in Nagoya, said he was surprised how realistically the author depicted the locals.
“Although it does not directly touch on the disaster, the 16-year time lapse in the story matches the gap between the Great Hanshin Earthquake (in 1995) and the Tohoku disasters,” Shimizu said.
“As a nuclear waste disposal site is being built in Finland, the author may have projected the issue of radioactive contamination on the sense of loss held by the protagonist, who has lost his hometown,” Shimizu said, referencing the thousands of people who had to evacuate the area surrounding the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

An article about the book – and its music – in Romanian:


“Insipidul Tsukuru Tazaki si anii sai de pelerinaj”, noul roman al lui Murakami creste vanzarile inregistrarilor cu muzica de Liszt


Noul roman al japonezului Haruki Murakami, lansat cu un imens succes la 12 aprilie, a dus la explozia a vanzarilor de inregistrari ale pieselor pentru pian de Franz Liszt descrise cu lux de amanunte in volumul ‘Insipidul Tsukuru Tazaki si anii sai de pelerinaj’, relateaza EFE duminica.
Haruki MurakamiRomanul, din care s-au vandut deja un milion de exemplare, are chiar titlul inspirat de lucrarea ‘Anii de pelerinaj’ a celebrului compozitor de origine maghiara, iar eroul principal al cartii, care face o introspectie in trecutul sau, este in permanenta insotit de creatiile lui Franz Liszt (1811-1886).
Sunt mentionate in mod special versiunile interpretative ale pianistului rus Lazar Berman. Iar inregistrarile acestuia s-au epuizat deja in Japonia, dupa cum scria ziarul niponi Asahi, care mentiona ca respectivele lucrari se situeaza pe primul loc in topul descarcarilor de muzica de pe internet.
‘Cei care au citit romanul vor sa asculte piesele. Nu exista un precedent similar al unei carti care sa fi impulsionat la un asemenea nivel vanzarile de muzica clasica’, decalat un purtator de cuvant al casei discografice Universal Music, care reediteaza, in mare graba, un CD cu inregistrari din 1977 ale lui Lazar Barman.
Nu este prima data cand pasiunea lui Murakami pentru muzica are un impact asupra cititorilor sai fideli, fiind cunoscut faptul ca trilogia sa ’1Q84′, publicata in 2009 -i2010, a impulsionat considerabil vanzarile inregsitrarilor cu piese pentru orchestra ale cehului Leos Janacek (1854-1928).


Citeste articolul aici: "Insipidul Tsukuru Tazaki si anii sai de pelerinaj", noul roman al lui Murakami creste vanzarile inregistrarilor cu muzica de Liszt - Mediaş Info
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Original article here:
http://www.mediasinfo.ro/insipidul-tsukuru-tazaki-si-anii-sai-de-pelerinaj-noul-roman-al-lui-murakami-creste-vanzarile-inregistrarilor-cu-muzica-de-liszt/2013/04/21/#.UXeixb8aA-c

Another interesting clip about the book's release from FNN News


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Asahi Shimbun presents four different perspectives on Tsukuru Tazaki


LITERARY LOOKING GLASS: 4 Murakami fans--4 perspectives on latest novel

April 23, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
A little more than a week since its arrival at bookstores in Japan, world-renowned writer Haruki Murakami’s first novel in three years has already sold more than 1 million copies.
The protagonist of "Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to, Kare no Junrei no Toshi" (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage), Tsukuru Tazaki, had four close friends when he was a high school student. But after high school, the four unexpectedly abandoned their friendships with Tazaki.
Years later, amid a successful career, a still-traumatized Tazaki was told by his girlfriend to face his past straightforwardly. He then set out on a journey to discover himself.
Different readers enjoy a novel in different ways. With that in mind, The Asahi Shimbun selected four discerning readers, who have long enjoyed Murakami’s works, to give their impressions on the new novel from their own unique perspectives.
YURI NAKAE, ACTOR-WRITER
The protagonist Tsukuru Tazaki is a designer of train stations, but his main work is to repair them rather than to create something. I feel there is a message there.
It's natural that things have faults and breakdowns. But when parts of things go wrong, people nowadays usually want to fix the problem in an unruly fashion; that is, they want to turn things upside down and discard them.
The same goes for education, politics and the way people live their lives. This trend reflects the attitude in a person's mind, in some way.
On the other hand, Tazaki’s work changes things while not denying the past. I think Murakami tries to make a protest against such situations through Tazaki’s job.
People today tend to discard what they cannot understand, saying they are boring. It is normal that there are many things one cannot understand, and if people could not refer to such things as incomprehensible, the world would become a scary place.
Murakami’s works, beginning with his first novel, in 1979, “Hear the Wind Sing,” leave behind many mysteries. It is not necessary to solve them. In fact, it's better not to solve them. That has partly contributed to the magnetic attraction of this novel.
NORIHIRO KATO, LITERARY CRITIC
After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, Murakami made a step toward being more involved in society. As a result, a new deeper problem has emerged. The new problem appeared in his short story “A Shinagawa Monkey,” (2005) as well as in “1Q84,” his recent masterpiece, separated in three books (2009-2010), in the form of difficulties the protagonists are facing. In “A Shinagawa Monkey,” the protagonist has never been able to deeply, unconditionally love anybody else.”
Tsukuru Tazaki also holds a similar feeling of incapability, but he told his girlfriend at the end of the story that he loves her with his soul and he thinks he wants her.
You can see the problem has shifted from whether one can gain someone’s love ... to whether one can love someone unconditionally with all of their heart. I think love affairs have recently become an issue of this nature.
The latest novel says the new problem is how people get rid of the insulating walls surrounding them.
Murakami has accepted the Great East Japan Earthquake as his own problem in such a manner. We can assume that made Murakami write this novel instead of a sequel to “1Q84.”
YUKIKO KONOSU, TRANSLATOR
Once a reader is drawn into Murakami’s world, he or she tends to like his works from that moment forward. Because the structure of his stories’ speaking style will not fully expose the protagonists to criticism from the external world, readers can feel that they are accepted softly as long as they can sympathize and assimilate with the protagonists.
The same is true for his latest work. The composition of the novel is similar to “Norwegian Wood,” (1987) but the protagonist of the latest story is a man around 40 years of age who is living in today’s society.
He lost his friends of the soul, but gained a flesh-and-blood girlfriend and moved toward a rebirth.
We can liken Tazaki and his four closest friends to codependent family members.
When a family member leaves home, harmony is often destroyed and remaining members can suffer psychologically. They attribute the destruction to the member who left home, and that person is disowned by the family.
A female member is forced to take care of the sick member. She is about to become ill herself under the heavy burden, but the male members shut their eyes to their suffering.
Quiet talkers are discarded, weak individuals disappear and kind people are forced to shoulder crushing burdens. I feel I saw a miniature version of real society through the novel. That may contribute to it selling in large numbers, I guess.
Murakami finished the story in a well-worn way. But it is salvation for the novel that the character who urged Tazaki to move forward to rebirth delivers a fatal blow at the end.
MAKOTO ICHIKAWA, LITERARY CRITIC
The most important feature of the latest novel is its writing style. Many of Haruki's past works often use unusual metaphors and repeat keywords to make his stories apparently readable, although some people actually do not like this style.
One of the few exceptions is "1Q84." Murakami said he intentionally loosened the text of the novel's book 1 and 2, prompting active debates among readers over its pros and cons.
On the other hand, the latest work suppresses the excessiveness of his characteristic style and is written in a simplified and careful manner compared to his other novels.
Murakami may intend to allow readers to easily understand his message of rebirth from a serious condition. His accumulated experiences as a translator may have enabled him to simplify his style.
Whichever it is, the modest style of the text is creating an excellent harmony with its protagonist’s job, train station designing, which requires an ability to safely direct the flow of people. If you replace “flow of people” with “flow of words,” you can see what Murakami intends to do in this novel.
(This article was edited by Chiaki Yoshimura, Senior Staff Writer.)



http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/culture/AJ201304230108

Saudi Gazette reports:


Haruki’s new book print run hits 1 million in week

DetailsHaruki’s new book print run hits 1 million in week
The Japanese publisher of the new novel by Haruki Murakami said Thursday it had ordered one million copies of the book, less than a week after it went on sale. Bungeishunju Ltd. said "Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi" (Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of...

Read more here: 
http://asia.widmi.com/index.php/saudi-arabia/saudi-gazette/life

Universal will re-issue Lazar Bermann's Liszt recordings (in Spanish)

Murakami dispara la venta de música clásica en Japón

Su novela "El descolorido Tsukuru Tazaki y sus años de peregrinación", todo un éxito en ventas, describe las composiciones para piano de Franz Liszt.
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TOKIO, Japón.- La nueva novela de Haruki Murakami "El descolorido Tsukuru Tazaki y sus años de peregrinación", que se encuentra en las librerías japonesas desde 11 de abril, ha disparado las ventas en Japón de las composiciones para piano del compositor Franz Liszt descritas con detalle por el escritor en su último trabajo.
La novela, que es un éxito de ventas con más de un millón de ejemplares impresos vendidos, ha tomado su título del trabajo del compositor húngaro "Années de Pèlerinage" (Años de peregrinaje).
Murakami (Kioto, 1949) describe y utiliza las composiciones del húngaro Franz Liszt (1811-1886) para acompañar al protagonista de su nuevo libro en un viaje introspectivo en busca de su pasado.
A través de sus 367 páginas, el libro, publicado por la editorial Bungei Shunju, narra la historia de Tsukuru, un arquitecto de 36 años que trabaja diseñando estaciones de tren en la inabarcable y multitudinaria Tokio.
El protagonista lleva a cabo un peregrinaje introspectivo y físico, regresa a su ciudad natal para reconciliarse con su grupo de amigos, que comparten entre ellos la particularidad de tener apellidos que representan colores.
Tsukuru se embarca en una búsqueda personal, un peregrinaje con el que pretende descifrar el rechazo que sufre por parte de este grupo y lograr devolverle el sentido a su existencia.
En esta novela, Murakami menciona también las composiciones interpretadas por el pianista ruso Lazar Berman, lo que ha hecho que sus grabaciones de la composición se hayan agotado en Japón, según informó hoy el periódico nipón Asahi.
Los discos y cds de las tres suites para piano, sobre todo las de Berman, han desaparecido de las tiendas de música japonesas y las descargas on line llegaron a colocarse en el número 1 en algunos portales.
Tal es la dimensión del éxito que la discográfica Universal Music decidió reeditar la grabación de 1977 del pianista de la obra maestra de Liszt, que saldrá a la venta el 15 de mayo en Japón.
"Los que han leído el libro quieren escuchar la pieza. No hay un precedente semejante de una novela que haya impulsado las ventas de música clásica a este nivel", aseguró al periódico Asahi un portavoz de la discográfica.
Sin embargo, no es la primera vez que la melomanía de Murakami tiene impacto en sus lectores, ya que la trilogía "1Q84", publicada entre 2009 y 2010, ya consiguió aumentar las ventas de la composición para orquesta "Sinfonietta" del músico checo Leos Janacek (1854-1928).
La nueva novela de Murakami es la número trece del escritor y la primera que pública en tres años, sin embargo aún se desconoce la fecha en que saldrán a la venta las traducciones para el mercado internacional.
El último libro traducido al español fue "Después del terremoto" (Tusquets Editores, 2013), publicado en Japón en el 2000, y que recoge un conjunto de relatos sobre el sismo que en 1995 asoló la ciudad japonesa costera de Kobe, en la que Murakami vivió la mayor parte de su niñez hasta que se mudó a Tokio para estudiar en la universidad de Waseda.
También recientemente Murakami quedó entre los finalistas del Premio Literario Internacional de Dublín IMPAC por "1Q84". Las obras seleccionadas para esta distinción son propuestas por lectores de muchas bibliotecas públicas de todo el mundo. El ganador se conocerá el 6 de junio y se alzará con 100.000 euros.
http://www.lacapitalmdp.com/noticias/Espectaculos/2013/04/23/241116.htm

Melville House reports>

Haruki Murakami’s new novel breaks records, causes literary daze

by 


Copies of the new novel.
Though we are still shifting our copy of 1Q84 around the apartment, moving it from the “I’ll never read this” shelf to the “I really want to read this, but maybe this summer” shelf to the “It’s going to be embarrassing if I haven’t read this sooner rather than later” shelf, Haruki Murakami has not been waiting around for us to catch up.
He’s got a new novel out,Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi (“Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage”), and it’s climbing the charts in Japan in ways even unprecedented for Murakami novels.

[...]
Because of the book’s remarkable popularity, its release has been met with an array of responses, with commenters running the gamut from people who have just finished reading a 370-page book very quickly, the opinions of people midway through a book, and the opinions of people who have only looked at the jacket. There’s a palpable daze in news reports with quotations from the public like:
 “The book has strong messages and many encouraging words.” –Michiko Mamuro, bookstore clerk
“It was different from what I was expecting, in a good way. I want to read a sequel.” –Miwako Kitamura, photojournalist
“His newest book has an impressive beginning.” –Chiaki Yoshimura, senior staff writer at Asahi Shimbun
“The title says ‘colourless’. What does this illustration mean? I cannot wait to read it.” –Ryosuke Kawai, eager reader
Bookstores around Japan had midnight launch parties with fans lining up by the hundred. In an unexpected coincidence, sales of a recording that plays a part in the novel, Russian pianist Lazar Berman’s recording of Liszt’s“Years of Pilgrimage” suites,  have also gone through the roof. All of which suggests that a significant proportion of the Japanese population is, at this very moment, sleep-deprived, Liszt-addled, and musing in a melancholy, overdetermined way about color. Romanticism has hit Japan!
Sal Robinson is an editor at Melville House, and co-founder of the Bridge Series, a reading series focused on translation.
Read full story here:
http://www.mhpbooks.com/haruki-murakamis-new-novel-breaks-records-causes-literary-daze/