For Chinese, Murakami is a window on the world

Interview with Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami in The Asahi Shimbun

For the legions of admirers of Haruki Murakami, the recent release of his latest best-seller, “Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to, Kare no Junrei no Toshi” (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage) could be a harbinger of a long hoped-for honor.

When the Nobel Prize in literature is announced in October, bookmakers are favoring the author of such classic works as “Norwegian Wood” and “Kafka on the Shore” to finally be tabbed.

One of those anxiously awaiting the announcement is Mao Danqing, a professor at Kobe International University. Mao dreams of bringing two contemporary literary giants face to face: Murakami and China’s Mo Yan, the author of such historical sagas as “Red Sorghum Clan,” who last year edged out the Japanese author for the coveted Nobel Prize.