An Interview with Norihiro Kato about Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki

Norihiro Kato, professor of literature at Waseda University and a well-known critic who has written a great deal about Haruki Murakami (including the famous two-volume study, Murakami Haruki Yellow Pages), was interviewed by Hiroshi Matsubara from AJW (Asahi Shinbun Asia & Japan Watch) about Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. 
Kato talks about the issues of commitment and detachment, which are often discussed in the context of Murakami as a writer. He also describes how his impressions of the book evolved as he read it three times!  He calls the novel "an imperfect novel that needed to be written as such to allow the author to reach a new paradigm."

INTERVIEW/ Norihiro Kato: 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki' is an imperfect work but one of Haruki Murakami's most important

photo by H. Matsubara

Editor's note: This interview is part of The Asahi Shimbun AJW's series on internationally acclaimed writer Haruki Murakami.

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When he first conducted his cover-to-cover structural analysis of Haruki Murakami’s latest full-length novel, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage,” Norihiro Kato realized he would not rank this work with the author's best.

But as he read the novel a second, and then a third time, the Waseda University professor recognized its importance as a possible turning point in the acclaimed writer's literary career.

To read the whole interview go to: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/special/HARUKI_MURAKAMI/AJ201403160010