Haruki Murakami's new novel 1Q84 big hit before release

Author Haruki Murakami released a new novel last Wednesday, his first one in five years, and it has become a huge hit. The publisher is printing 480,000 copies for Japanese customers.

Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular writers in Japan. His fans have been waiting eagerly his new novel for five years. Murakami finally released his new book “1Q84” referring to the year 1984 in Japanese. Fans of Murakami have already placed thousands of pre-orders of the two-volume novel from online retail stores such as Amazon.co.jp. Murakami also has a huge international following with most of his books translated into over three dozen languages. Some of his bestsellers internationally include“Norwegian Wood”, “Kafka on the Shore”, "Dance, Dance, Dance" and “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”. The surprising thing about the popularity of his latest novel was neither he nor the publisher promoted his new release. The eager Japanese fans heard through word-of-mouth and they just wanted to read his new novel. Akiko Saito, chief editor of the literature section of Shinchosha Publishing Co., told AFP:

As far as I know, this is the first time that we have released a new novel without any pre-release marketing...We are seeing a market impact much bigger than expected.

Saito said they kept the new novel secret because Murakami’s fans wanted that way. Kanae Miyazu, a Tokyo photographer and long-time Murakami fan, bought both volumes on Friday. Ms. Miyazu told AFP:

"Even without knowing anything about the book, I decided to buy and read it anyway because I trust Mr. Murakami...Any book of his would be fun."