A new Haruki Murakami novel is arriving this summer, and with it, the promise of another enigmatic journey.
Publisher Shinchosha announced Thursday that the internationally beloved author will release ¡°The Tale of Kaho¡± on July 3, marking his first full-length work in three years.
The 352-page novel will center on Kaho, a 26-year-old picture book author. According to the publisher, it is the first time Murakami has written a novel with a woman as the sole protagonist. He has, however, written female protagonists in short stories such as ¡°Sleep¡± and ¡°Thailand.¡±
The book is a revised and expanded version of Murakami¡¯s four-part ¡°Kaho¡± series, which begins with the eponymous character going on a blind date with a rude motorcyclist (¡°I¡¯ve dated all kinds of women in my life,¡± the man said, ¡°but I have to say I¡¯ve never seen one as ugly as you.¡°), followed by an encounter with an anteater couple and other strange occurrences. The series was originally published in the literary magazine Shincho, starting from its June 2024 issue through March 2026. An early installment, translated into English by Philip Gabriel, appeared in The New Yorker in 2024.
Murakami¡¯s previous novel, ¡°The City and Its Uncertain Walls,¡± was published in 2023. That release drew devoted fans ¡ª often referred to as ¡°harukisuto¡± ¡ª to a midnight launch event at Kinokuniya in Shinjuku, where readers gathered to collect preordered copies, underscoring the enduring enthusiasm surrounding Murakami¡¯s work.
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