Giveaway! Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

“The other thing that puzzled him was the fact that their lovemaking and her storytelling were so closely linked, making it hard to tell where one ended and the other began.” 

~Haruki Murakami, Scheherezade

By Jessica S. Manuel

We are officially one month away from holding the English translation of Murakami’s newest short story collection in our hands! Men Without Women hits stores May 9. Are you as excited as I am?

Most of you probably know how his short stories frequently end up in his novels, but have you heard Murakami discuss the way he approaches each genre?

At the beginning of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, an earlier short story collection, he writes, “To put it in the simplest possible terms, I find writing novels a challenge, writing short stories a joy. If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.”

Some of the tales included in this new collection were published elsewhere, so they might not be new to you, including these four which are all available to read online in The New Yorker:

• Samsa in Love
• Kino
• Scheherazade
• Yesterday

You can find these and more short stories, articles, and interviews HERE.

Nonetheless, I believe this new collection as a whole, with the Hemingway homage, the themes of loneliness and isolation, and the very Murakami feel, will tie these stories together nicely, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest and discussing them with you.

The publisher describes the collection as follows:

“Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all.” 

To celebrate our Murakami community and this new book, I am giving away a copy of this book to three lucky Murakami fans. Enter below. 

Good luck!

Winners will be chosen at random and notified by email on May 8!

Individuals may only enter the sweepstakes once.

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