Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

infobox Book |
name = Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
title_orig =
translator = Philip Gabriel, Jay Rubin


image_caption= UK 1st edition cover
author = Haruki Murakami
cover_artist =
country = Japan
language = Japanese
series =
genre = Short story collection
publisher = Harvill Secker (UK)
Knopf (US)
pub_date =
english_pub_date = July 6, 2006 (UK)
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 334 pp (UK)
352 pp (US)
isbn = ISBN 1-84343-269-2 (UK 1st edition)
ISBN 1-4000-4461-8 (US 1st edition)

"Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" is a collection of short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami.

The stories contained in the book were written between 1981 and 2005 and this collection was first published in English in 2006. Around half the stories were translated by Philip Gabriel with the other half being translated by Jay Rubin. In this collection, the stories alternate between the two translators for the most part.

Murakami considers this to be his first real collection of short stories since "The Elephant Vanishes" (1993) and considers "after the quake" (2000) to be more akin to a concept album, as its stories were designed to produce a cumulative effect.cite book | first=Haruki| last=Murakami| authorlink=Haruki Murakami | year=2006 | title=Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | chapter = Introduction to the English edition]

In the introductory notes to the English language edition of "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman", Murakami declares, ‘I find writing novels a challenge, writing stories a joy. If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.’ This elegant analogy serves to give the reader some idea of what awaits. [Article about Blind willow, Sleeping Woman [http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=1531] , retrieved June 01, 2007.]

The stories in the collection are replete with the sort of epiphanies and moments of clarity that Murakami thrives on – if there is a ‘theme’ or unifying thread it is one of momentary revelation.

Contents

Many of the stories in the collection have been published previously in literary magazines, although some have been revised for "Blind Willow". The stories are listed below in the order in which they appear in the book.

Tony Takitani (トニー滝谷) was adapted into a 2004 Japanese movie directed by Jun Ichikawa.

The final five stories all appeared in the book "Tōkyō Kitanshū" (Strange Tales From Tokyo), published in Japan in 2005.

Awards

* [http://www.munsterlit.ie/ Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award] -September, 2006 [ [http://www.f.waseda.jp/mjewel/jlit/archives/archives2006.html Waseda.jp Archives] ]
* [http://www.kiriyamaprize.org/ Kiriyama Prize] -February, 2007 [ [http://www.kiriyamaprize.org/winners/index.shtml Kiriyama Winners for 2007] ] - "Following the announcement of the Prize, Mr Murakami declined to accept the award for reasons of personal principle."

References

External links

* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1815022,00.html Review at "The Guardian"]
* [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19607716-5003900,00.html, Review at "The Australian"]
* [http://www.metacritic.com/books/authors/murakamiharuki/blindwillowsleepingwoman Reviews at Metacritic.com]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Willow (disambiguation) — A willow is any of the several hundred species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Salix .Willow or willows may also refer to:In entertainmentFictional characters* Willow (comics), a mutant character created by Marvel Comics for their… …   Wikipedia

  • Haruki Murakami — Murakami giving a lecture at MIT in 2005 Born January 12, 1949 (1949 01 12) (age 62) Kyoto, Japan Occupation …   Wikipedia

  • Norwegian Wood (novel) — Norwegian Wood   …   Wikipedia

  • Kiriyama Prize — The Kiriyama Prize is an international literary award given to books which will encourage greater understanding of and among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia. The prize was established in 1996. Past winners include Greg… …   Wikipedia

  • Kiriyama-Preis — Der Kiriyama Preis ist ein jährlich verliehener Internationaler Völkerverständigungs und Literaturpreis für herausragende Buch Neuerscheinungen aus den Pazifik Anrainer Ländern. Dahinter steht ein Non Profit Verein namens Pacific Rim Voices mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kiriyama Prize — Der Kiriyama Preis ist ein jährlich verliehener Internationaler Völkerverständigungs und Literaturpreis für herausragende Buch Neuerscheinungen aus den Pazifik Anrainer Ländern. Dahinter steht ein Non Profit Verein namens Pacific Rim Voices mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Мураками, Харуки — Харуки Мураками 村上 春樹 Х. Мураками 6 октября 2005 года Дата рождения …   Википедия

  • Мураками Харуки — Харуки Мураками 村上 春樹 Дата рождения: 12 января 1949 Место рождения: Киото …   Википедия

  • Харуки Мураками — 村上 春樹 Дата рождения: 12 января 1949 Место рождения: Киото …   Википедия

  • Dates of 2006 — ▪ 2007 January Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem. America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. U.S. Pres. George W. Bush, in his state of the union… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”