Who We're Reading When We're Reading Murakami

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How did a loner destined for a niche domestic audience become one of the most famous writers alive? This exploration offers a rare insight into the "Murakami Industry" and the crucial roles of translators and editors in shaping global literary culture. Thirty years ago, Haruki Murakami's works were translated as part of pocket-sized English-learning guides in Japan. Now, his books are available in fifty languages, winning awards and selling millions worldwide. This narrative focuses on a pivotal part of that journey, featuring an expat art historian turned translator, a Chinese-American ex-academic turned editor, and other publishing professionals from New York, London, and Tokyo. Together, they introduced a unique, pop-inflected Japanese voice to the global literary stage. David Karashima combines research, correspondence, and interviews with numerous individuals, including Murakami, to reveal how countless behind-the-scenes decisions contributed to the creation of an internationally celebrated author's persona. He also raises broader questions about the roles of translators and editors in framing texts, the implications of translating for a market, and how Japanese culture is packaged for Western audiences.