Haruki Murakami Interview in the Mainichi Daily.

It used to be that Haruki Murakami was very shy with the press, especially the Japanese press. But in recent years that shyness must have cast off a little. It looks like he's in the news every other month now.

While I won't be surprised if he gave a comprehensive interview to a foreign newspaper (it's outside the shores of Japan where he's celebrated as a literary sensation, while he's seen as more of a hack within), it does surprise me that Murakami would give such a long and interesting review to a Japanese paper–the interview spans 5 webpages over 5 days. (Personally I've been hopping with glee with all this Murakami news pouring in!)

I guess times must have changed?

There's a lot of new and interesting nuggets spilled by Murakami in the interview, which discusses his work translating English classics into Japanese, his next novel(an epic worthy of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle!), how English literature and translating English literature influences his writing, and his writing process.

It's a great read, especially if you're a big Murakami fan like me.

Here are the links:

1. Haruki Murakami opens up about translating America's literary giants
2. Murakami says American contemporary classics 'really significant' for his writing
3. Murakami's next epic poised to become his biggest ever
4. 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' helped inspire Murakami to write for his daily bread
5. Murakami aims to find harmonious balance between globalism and regionalism

Enjoy!