Melville House Books

Secret novel on sale now!

The Christian Science Monitor reports that when Haruki Murakami‘s novel Kafka on the Shore was released, “fans complained that their response to it was dulled by too much advance press coverage.”

Murakami’s publisher heard their cry. Murakami’s new novel, set to be released today, has been kept completely under wraps. The only thing known about it is the title “1Q84″ and the author.

And the secrecy is working like a dream. Takashi Machii, spokesman for Shinchosha, the book’s publisher, told the Associated Press, “It is amazing. People are craving his latest novel.” And Shinchosha “raised its first printing to 480,000 copies from 380,000 after orders flooded in,” according to the AP.

The book sells for 3,600 yen ($38), and is already starting to appear in some stores, prior to the national launch. “The secrecy surrounding the work is making customers absolutely famished for this book,” said Toshiaki Uchida, assistant manager at Yaesu Book Center, told the AP.

Speculation is that the book’s title is “a reference to George Orwell’s 1984, because the number nine in Japanese is pronounced like the English letter Q. Others speculate, however, that the title is an homage to the novella The True Story of Ah Q by Chinese novelist Lu Xun,” according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The AP tells us that the novel is “a complex and surreal narrative†that “shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other†and includes exploration of “social and emotional issues such as cult religion, violence, family ties and love.â€

It is not know when or if an English language translation will be published. Though chances are good, we’ll all hear about it way in advance. I don’t think US publishers will care to keep it under their hat….

Valerie Merians is the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.