Internationally renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami will release his first novel in about three years in July, his publisher said Thursday.
“The Tale of KAHO” centers a 26-year-old author of picture books named Kaho, the publisher Shinchosha said, adding that it is the first time Murakami has depicted a woman as the lone protagonist of a novel.
For the 352-page book, Murakami brought together and reworked his four-part “Kaho” series published in the literary magazine Shincho from its June 2024 to March 2026 editions. An early piece from the series, translated into English by Philip Gabriel, ran in The New Yorker in 2024.
The novel will hit bookstores on July 3, with an e-book version available at the same time.
Murakami is widely known for novels such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Kafka on the Shore” and “1Q84,” with his work translated into dozens of languages and adapted into numerous films around the world. His last novel, “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” came out in 2023.
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