Bloggery

Friday 14th Oct 2011

Becky Milford

Tuesday 18th October – Murakami Day at Mr B’s

Order both volumes of 1Q84 and Mr B’s will give you a free DVD of the astonishingly beautiful film Tony Takitani based on one of Murakami’s short stories

Murakami is bonkers. This isn’t a judgement on the man himself – everything I’ve read about Haruki suggests him to a very likeable yet private chap who enjoys running, cooking, and has a penchant for cats – the latter two subjects cropping up repeatedly in his various novels. No, when applying the ‘crazy’ label it is purely to his fiction, and it is meant as highly complimentary.

The reason for this Japanese-inspired blog is of course that we will soon be seeing another title added to the minimalist, mono-chrome covers adorning the shelves of Mr B’s, as Murakami releases his latest dose of far-out fiction. After he caused such a stir in Japan with the new trilogy, 1Q84, and having a well-deserved following over here, we at Mr B’s thought it only right we celebrate with a day for Murakami lovers.

If you pop into the shop on Tuesday 18^th then prepare to see our display tables laden with fresh copies of the book, as well as Asian-inspired decorations and nibbles (wasabi peas with a b.y.o Saki policy!) and plenty of chopsticks stuck into our hair (bar Ed). We know there are some hard-core fans who will be queuing up to get their hands on the new book, but if you haven’t given the revered Japanese author a try then this may be the time to do so. If you don’t fancy starting with the colossal new work then you can always come and check out our full range of his backlist titles.

It may seem like a daunting task to anyone approaching Murakami for the first time – books one and two are released in a single volume on Tuesday, with the third to follow the following Tuesday, October 25th. But I would not think twice about advising both newbies and devotees to snap them up. And we are such fans at Mr B’s that we are offering anyone who orders both volumes – that’s those who buy parts 1 and 2 and then order part 3 – a FREE dvd copy of one of Mr and Mrs B’s favourite films “Tony Takitani”,  based on one of Murakami’s short stories. It’s a visually stunning quirky love story that in many ways encapsulates all of Murakami’s hallmarks.

You don’t have to be an established Murakami-lover to enjoy this new book. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of IQ84 a month or so back, and it is the first novel by the author I have ever attempted, always having seen him as being a bit ‘far out’. To say I am pleasantly surprised would be an understatement – I cannot put the novel down! Click here to read my full review of 1Q84.

I can’t believe it has taken me so long to appreciate Murakami’s works, and so I will be in store on Tuesday getting into the spirit of things, ready to chat about which previous gems I have to catch up with, and also happy to discuss how I am finding IQ84 so far. So whether you’re going to be beating our door down to grab your copy, or would like a little more info on what you can expect, come along on Tuesday to enjoy the fun!