Japanese Writer
Considered one of the greatest Japanese writers.
Works: Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore...
Genre: Novel, essay...
Parents: Miyuki Murakami and Chiaki Murakami
Spouse: Yoko Murakami (m. 1971)
Height: 1.65 m
Haruki Murakami was born on January 12, 1949, in Kyoto, Japan, during the post-World War II baby boom.
Family
The only child of Miyuki and Chiaki Murakami. Grandson of a Buddhist priest. His parents taught Japanese literature. He spent his youth in Kobe.From an early age, he was influenced by Western literature and music. He grew up reading authors such as Kurt Vonnegut and Jack Kerouac.
Education
He studied Greek literature and theater at Waseda University (Soudai), where he met Yoko, his spouse. During this time, he worked in a record store and, before finishing his studies, opened a jazz bar, Peter Cat, which he managed with his wife from 1974 to 1981 in Kokubunji, Tokyo.Writer
He decided to write his first novel while watching a baseball game in 1978 at Jingu Stadium. Murakami attended a game between the Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Carp. When Dave Hilton hit the ball, Murakami realized that perhaps he could write a novel.Books
Haruki Murakami has stated that he likes creating stories that unsettle his readers. Novels like Norwegian Wood, his first major international success, sold over four million copies. Other works, such as Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, explore themes such as loneliness and personal growth.After the success of Norwegian Wood in 1986, he lived in Europe and the United States; he returned to Japan in 1995 after the Kobe earthquake and the sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in the Tokyo subway.
He later wrote about these events in Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. Other notable novels include: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Sputnik Sweetheart, South of the Border, West of the Sun, and Kafka on the Shore.
In 2005, he published the short story collection Tokyo Kitanshu, followed by Birthday Stories and Tokyo Mysteries.
In 2009, Murakami published 1Q84, which was nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize, though his books were pulled from China in 2012 due to political tensions. In 2013, he released Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, an international bestseller that received mixed reviews. In 2015, he published the essays in Novelist as a Vocation, translated into English in 2022.
In 2017, Killing Commendatore was released, sparking controversy in Hong Kong for its classification as "indecent." His novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls (2023) explores themes of global isolation and reflects on pandemics and conflicts. In 2024, The New Yorker published his story Kaho, about a failed date.
His style, often described as pop literature and surrealist, tackles themes of postmodern alienation and loneliness. He has cited authors such as John Irving, Raymond Carver, and F. Scott Fitzgerald as influences.
Long-Distance Runner
A participant in marathons and triathlons, he completed his first ultramarathon on June 23, 1996, a 100-kilometer race around Lake Saroma in Hokkaido. He wrote about his passion for running in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007), a work blending memoir and essay.Private Life
A fan of Gustav Mahler's symphonies and TV series like The Sopranos. He avoids photographs and rarely gives interviews.Awards
Murakami has received awards such as the Noma, Tanizaki, Yomiuri, Franz Kafka, and Jerusalem Prizes. In Spain, he was honored with the Order of Arts and Letters and the International Catalunya Prize in 2011. In 2023, he won the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature.
"It's hard to be an individual in Japan."
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami's voice
Summary
Japanese author known for his surreal and immersive novels. He blends elements of magical realism and philosophy. Murakami is considered one of the most influential contemporary writers.
Bibliografía
Títulos en Español
1979 Oye cantar al viento
1980 Pinball
1982 La caza del carnero salvaje
1985 El fin del mundo y un despiadado país de las maravillas
1987 Tokio blues (Norwegian Wood)
1988 Baila, baila, baila
1992 Al sur de la frontera, al oeste del sol
1995 Crónica del pájaro que da cuerda al mundo
1999 Sputnik, mi amor
2002 Kafka en la orilla
2004 After Dark
2009 1Q84
2013 Los años de peregrinación del chico sin color
2017 Matar al comendador
2020 Primera persona del singular
2023 La ciudad y sus muros inciertos
