What do you think?
Rate this book
Who We're Reading When We're Reading Murakami
How did a loner destined for a niche domestic audience become one of the most famous writers alive? A rare look inside the making of the "Murakami Industry"—and a thought-provoking exploration of the role of translators and editors in the creation of global literary culture.
Thirty years ago, when Haruki Murakami's works were first being translated, they were part of a series of pocket-sized English-learning guides released only in Japan. Today his books are in fifty languages and have won prizes and sold millions of copies globally. How did a loner destined for a niche domestic audience become one of the most famous writers alive? This book tells one key part of the story. Its cast includes an expat trained in art history who never intended to become a translator; a Chinese-American ex-academic who never planned to work as an editor; and other publishing professionals in New York, London, and Tokyo who together introduced an understated, pop-inflected, unexpected Japanese voice to the wider literary world.
David Karashima synthesizes research, correspondence, and interviews with dozens of individuals—including Murakami himself—to examine how countless behind-the-scenes choices over the course of many years worked to build an internationally celebrated author's persona and oeuvre. He looks beyond the "Murakami Industry" toward larger questions: How active a role should translators and editors play in framing their writers' texts? What does it mean to translate and edit "for a market"? How does Japanese culture get packaged and exported for the West?
Thirty years ago, when Haruki Murakami's works were first being translated, they were part of a series of pocket-sized English-learning guides released only in Japan. Today his books are in fifty languages and have won prizes and sold millions of copies globally. How did a loner destined for a niche domestic audience become one of the most famous writers alive? This book tells one key part of the story. Its cast includes an expat trained in art history who never intended to become a translator; a Chinese-American ex-academic who never planned to work as an editor; and other publishing professionals in New York, London, and Tokyo who together introduced an understated, pop-inflected, unexpected Japanese voice to the wider literary world.
David Karashima synthesizes research, correspondence, and interviews with dozens of individuals—including Murakami himself—to examine how countless behind-the-scenes choices over the course of many years worked to build an internationally celebrated author's persona and oeuvre. He looks beyond the "Murakami Industry" toward larger questions: How active a role should translators and editors play in framing their writers' texts? What does it mean to translate and edit "for a market"? How does Japanese culture get packaged and exported for the West?
289 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
76 people are currently reading
3608 people want to read
About the author
David Karashima
8 books18 followersDavid Karashima is a prize-winning novelist and the author of many translations of contemporary Japanese fiction into English, including works by Hitomi Kanehara, Taichi Yamada, Yasutaka Tsutsui and Hisaki Matsuura.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
![Profile Image for s.penkevich [mental health hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1735525095i%2F6431467._UX200_CR0%2C11%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
November 20, 2024
'I'm just glad that they sell.'
-Haruki Murakami
Regardless if you love him, hate him or generally ignore him, it is indisputable that Haruki Murakami is a major voice in international literature. Widely celebrated and translated, Murakami has captured minds for decades with his unique ability to blend the fantastical with the mundane in a way that dissolves the dichotomy between the two. Who We’re Reading When We’re Reading Murakami by David Karashima tells the story of how Murakami came to be read in English-prominent countries like the US and UK and reminds us that publishing is a multi-faceted team of people who present books as products to function in a capitalist economy, asking the question if Murakami’s success is purely his work as an author or a product of marketing decisions. While a bit meandering and loose, Karashima details ‘the stories of the colorful cast of characters who first contributed to publishing Murakami’s work in English,’ tells the story of how he found editors, publishers, cover art (Murakami reportedly enjoyed Chip Kidd’s artwork saying it reminded him of director David Lynch) and more, showing how Muramaki became as much of a mythology in his own right as much as an author. Fans of Murakami will enjoy this look behind the scenes of his early books, though this will also appeal to anyone with interest in the mechanics of the publishing industry.
This book deals primarily with the business end of publishing and translating, though often spends far too much time on biographical details of those involved when more looks at the process of editing or the mechanics of the translating might have been more informative ( If This Be Treason: Translation and its Dyscontents by famed translator Gregory Rabassa is a great choice for those looking more into translators minds). The stories it does tell are quite interesting, such as how early efforts to translate Murakami were not enticing to US publishers, being initially sold in Japanese airports for English-speaking businessmen on travel or marketed as a book to ‘learn to read English with author Haruki Murakami!’ Bringing Murakami to an American audience, it was decided, would require a few alterations to make it feel contemporary and A Wild Sheep Chase had any references to the story taking place in the 70s removed and added a reference to Ronald Reagan to make it feel more of-the-present for it’s 1989 US release.
Changes to his stories were frequent in this early translations, with Murakami referring to translator Alfred Birnbaum as ‘more of an introducer than a meticulous translator.’ Large sections of his novels were cut in US publications, with Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World being trimmed by 100 pages to remove plot-lines they felt were too loose or inconclusive for American audiences and almost completely removing an entire character, the Girl in Pink (the novel is about to be released in an unabridged version with a new translation by Jay Rubin). The Girl in Pink was written to have rather sexually aggressive dialogue and editors didn’t want ‘the author or the book to be dismissed’ because of it. Critic Gitte Marianne Hansen is quoted at length in saying
However the case may be, a frequent issue with Murakami is the frequent sexual encounters between adults and young girls, or depictions of women in general, which prompted Mieko Kawakami to directly confront Murakami about it when interviewing him in 2017.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle also underwent significant trims in the English translation, this time by Jay Rubin who produced both an abridged version and a complete version of the novel. Originally published as three books in Japan, Knopf—Murakami’s American publisher—opted for a single volume abridged version that removed a full 25,000 words. Karashima reports that Knopf felt it produced a tighter novel and the original included too many ‘chaotic’ subplots. Which is a shame, because it is sad considering that people cannot value a story unless there is a tidy ‘point’ or conclusion and I feel something Murakami does quite well is show how the act of telling a story and the effect it gives overrides a tidy conclusion.
However, reviews of later books such as Killing Commendatore have mentioned the book as overly long and meandering, which does make one consider if the trimmings and alterations of the early translations did improve the novels for an American audience. I have always found something fascinating about the way Murakami actually does include a lot of American or British cultural references in his works (though there are times when references have actually been changed to suit the English-speaking audience) and Karashima comments on part of Murakami’s early success in Japan was delivering literature with a Western flair to it. When bringing Murakami to an American audience, the timing was right as there was an increased interest in Japanese culture though in many ways Western audiences are seeing snippets of their own culture reflected back at them as captured by Murakami. There is always a sense of Americans fetishizing other cultures, which made Murakami an easily palatable choice for an American audience.
On having his books edited and trimmed, Murakami himself seems fairly accepting of it, though has expressed wishes that unabridged versions of his early novels would eventually be released. Karashima compares Murakami with one of his favorite American authors, Raymond Carver, who had his stories notably pared down by editor Gordon Lish. Murakami in fact translated Carver into Japanese, doing so around the time he wrote after the quake which certainly has a sparseness and ineffable sadness to it akin to Carver’s work. Murakami had his stories significantly edited when published in The New Yorker, with them cutting out or euphamizing much of the sexual content. On this Murakami says:
These stories would later be collected in The Elephant Vanishes, which came out to less-than-enthusiastic sales, making Murakami sadly realize that the short story does not have the same appeal to American audiences as it does in Japan. While he seems pretty affable about everything that made him a success here, many of his comments seem like the cultural differences of American reading tastes make him sad or frustrated, and he particularly notes that he doesn’t like how Americans want everything spelled out too much compared to how he is used to writing.
Much of the book deals with the changing of editors and translators, with Alfred Birnbaum being glad to have been a key roll to ‘start the Murakami engine,’ but feeling he was pushed out and wondering if Murakami had been disappointed in his work. While his own translations appeared in Elephant alongside with some from Philip Gabriel (who, Karashima notes, had translated Murakami stories ‘just for fun’ while in University), Murakami decided to go with Jay Rubin and Gabriel for any books that followed. While the business mechanics are moderately interesting, I would have preferred more, say, actual text of removed passages or conversation on alterations more.
This is a great little book for Murakami fans who want a unique view into Murakami as a product being sold as opposed to just an author. So much of publishing is hiding the fact that books are a product of a team, which is part of the appeal that makes authors into idols as if they are just a rose that grew from the concrete. However the people behind the scenes deserve credit as well, such as the recent push for translators to be named on book covers spearheaded by Jennifer Croft. Croft has translated for Olga Tokarczuk, and the Nobel-winning author said in an interview with The Guardian ‘when a book appears in English, it is made universal, it becomes a global publication…sometimes I wonder how my life would have worked out if my books had been translated into English sooner.’ Murakami has been brought to an English speaking audience by the many people discussed by Karashima and it has helped launch his career as an international literary superstar. Karashima leaves you to decide how much of the success is Murakami alone and how much is the work of his team, but one thing is for certain: I want the unabridged Wind-Up Bird Chronicles!
3.5/5
-Haruki Murakami
Regardless if you love him, hate him or generally ignore him, it is indisputable that Haruki Murakami is a major voice in international literature. Widely celebrated and translated, Murakami has captured minds for decades with his unique ability to blend the fantastical with the mundane in a way that dissolves the dichotomy between the two. Who We’re Reading When We’re Reading Murakami by David Karashima tells the story of how Murakami came to be read in English-prominent countries like the US and UK and reminds us that publishing is a multi-faceted team of people who present books as products to function in a capitalist economy, asking the question if Murakami’s success is purely his work as an author or a product of marketing decisions. While a bit meandering and loose, Karashima details ‘the stories of the colorful cast of characters who first contributed to publishing Murakami’s work in English,’ tells the story of how he found editors, publishers, cover art (Murakami reportedly enjoyed Chip Kidd’s artwork saying it reminded him of director David Lynch) and more, showing how Muramaki became as much of a mythology in his own right as much as an author. Fans of Murakami will enjoy this look behind the scenes of his early books, though this will also appeal to anyone with interest in the mechanics of the publishing industry.
This book deals primarily with the business end of publishing and translating, though often spends far too much time on biographical details of those involved when more looks at the process of editing or the mechanics of the translating might have been more informative ( If This Be Treason: Translation and its Dyscontents by famed translator Gregory Rabassa is a great choice for those looking more into translators minds). The stories it does tell are quite interesting, such as how early efforts to translate Murakami were not enticing to US publishers, being initially sold in Japanese airports for English-speaking businessmen on travel or marketed as a book to ‘learn to read English with author Haruki Murakami!’ Bringing Murakami to an American audience, it was decided, would require a few alterations to make it feel contemporary and A Wild Sheep Chase had any references to the story taking place in the 70s removed and added a reference to Ronald Reagan to make it feel more of-the-present for it’s 1989 US release.
Changes to his stories were frequent in this early translations, with Murakami referring to translator Alfred Birnbaum as ‘more of an introducer than a meticulous translator.’ Large sections of his novels were cut in US publications, with Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World being trimmed by 100 pages to remove plot-lines they felt were too loose or inconclusive for American audiences and almost completely removing an entire character, the Girl in Pink (the novel is about to be released in an unabridged version with a new translation by Jay Rubin). The Girl in Pink was written to have rather sexually aggressive dialogue and editors didn’t want ‘the author or the book to be dismissed’ because of it. Critic Gitte Marianne Hansen is quoted at length in saying
‘that sex descriptions in the Murakami world have a lot to do with self-discovery and communication between characters who don’t understand each other, rather than sex in the pornographic sense. And that feeling might be lost when these explicit words and images are removed.’
However the case may be, a frequent issue with Murakami is the frequent sexual encounters between adults and young girls, or depictions of women in general, which prompted Mieko Kawakami to directly confront Murakami about it when interviewing him in 2017.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle also underwent significant trims in the English translation, this time by Jay Rubin who produced both an abridged version and a complete version of the novel. Originally published as three books in Japan, Knopf—Murakami’s American publisher—opted for a single volume abridged version that removed a full 25,000 words. Karashima reports that Knopf felt it produced a tighter novel and the original included too many ‘chaotic’ subplots. Which is a shame, because it is sad considering that people cannot value a story unless there is a tidy ‘point’ or conclusion and I feel something Murakami does quite well is show how the act of telling a story and the effect it gives overrides a tidy conclusion.
However, reviews of later books such as Killing Commendatore have mentioned the book as overly long and meandering, which does make one consider if the trimmings and alterations of the early translations did improve the novels for an American audience. I have always found something fascinating about the way Murakami actually does include a lot of American or British cultural references in his works (though there are times when references have actually been changed to suit the English-speaking audience) and Karashima comments on part of Murakami’s early success in Japan was delivering literature with a Western flair to it. When bringing Murakami to an American audience, the timing was right as there was an increased interest in Japanese culture though in many ways Western audiences are seeing snippets of their own culture reflected back at them as captured by Murakami. There is always a sense of Americans fetishizing other cultures, which made Murakami an easily palatable choice for an American audience.
On having his books edited and trimmed, Murakami himself seems fairly accepting of it, though has expressed wishes that unabridged versions of his early novels would eventually be released. Karashima compares Murakami with one of his favorite American authors, Raymond Carver, who had his stories notably pared down by editor Gordon Lish. Murakami in fact translated Carver into Japanese, doing so around the time he wrote after the quake which certainly has a sparseness and ineffable sadness to it akin to Carver’s work. Murakami had his stories significantly edited when published in The New Yorker, with them cutting out or euphamizing much of the sexual content. On this Murakami says:
‘Theer are people who criticize me for this, saying ‘I bet you let them do what they want because it’s The New Yorker.’ Yes, that’s exactly right! But like I said, I reverse the changes when the story is published in book form.’
These stories would later be collected in The Elephant Vanishes, which came out to less-than-enthusiastic sales, making Murakami sadly realize that the short story does not have the same appeal to American audiences as it does in Japan. While he seems pretty affable about everything that made him a success here, many of his comments seem like the cultural differences of American reading tastes make him sad or frustrated, and he particularly notes that he doesn’t like how Americans want everything spelled out too much compared to how he is used to writing.
Much of the book deals with the changing of editors and translators, with Alfred Birnbaum being glad to have been a key roll to ‘start the Murakami engine,’ but feeling he was pushed out and wondering if Murakami had been disappointed in his work. While his own translations appeared in Elephant alongside with some from Philip Gabriel (who, Karashima notes, had translated Murakami stories ‘just for fun’ while in University), Murakami decided to go with Jay Rubin and Gabriel for any books that followed. While the business mechanics are moderately interesting, I would have preferred more, say, actual text of removed passages or conversation on alterations more.
This is a great little book for Murakami fans who want a unique view into Murakami as a product being sold as opposed to just an author. So much of publishing is hiding the fact that books are a product of a team, which is part of the appeal that makes authors into idols as if they are just a rose that grew from the concrete. However the people behind the scenes deserve credit as well, such as the recent push for translators to be named on book covers spearheaded by Jennifer Croft. Croft has translated for Olga Tokarczuk, and the Nobel-winning author said in an interview with The Guardian ‘when a book appears in English, it is made universal, it becomes a global publication…sometimes I wonder how my life would have worked out if my books had been translated into English sooner.’ Murakami has been brought to an English speaking audience by the many people discussed by Karashima and it has helped launch his career as an international literary superstar. Karashima leaves you to decide how much of the success is Murakami alone and how much is the work of his team, but one thing is for certain: I want the unabridged Wind-Up Bird Chronicles!
3.5/5
April 23, 2020
The blurb states that this is a book about how Murakami rose to global fame - alas, it's simply incorrect that Karashima investigates how "Japanese culture gets packaged and exported for the West", as he exclusively talks about Murakami in the US, which obviosuly does not constitute "the West" (we get some info about the UK towards the very end of the book, and it's more of an afterthought). I am frankly stunned that a book about international translated fiction thinks it can explain the perception of "an internationally celebrated author's persona and oeuvre" (again, the blurb) by narrowing its perspective to the US market, thus also playing into the worst prejudices against this country. As an additional problem, this brand-new book only discusses Murakami's career up until 1998, and then just stops.
Karashima talks to the translators and editors who worked on the English translations, he gives detailed accounts of their professional credentials, meetings with the author, the editing process, the covers and the marketing of Murakami in the US, cuts made to various texts, changes in novels and magazine articles - this book is certainly a treasure trove for everyone interested in Murakami translations published in the US until 1998. But that's not what the marketing suggests the book is limited to - and the false expectations evoked by the marketing led to my disappointment.
Most of Murakami's international fans are NOT reading a version of Murakami's work influenced by the people Karashima portrays in Who We're Reading When We're Reading Murakami - and that would be fine, if the publisher would not mislead potential readers with a lofty blurb that misrepresents the focus and scope of this book.
Karashima talks to the translators and editors who worked on the English translations, he gives detailed accounts of their professional credentials, meetings with the author, the editing process, the covers and the marketing of Murakami in the US, cuts made to various texts, changes in novels and magazine articles - this book is certainly a treasure trove for everyone interested in Murakami translations published in the US until 1998. But that's not what the marketing suggests the book is limited to - and the false expectations evoked by the marketing led to my disappointment.
Most of Murakami's international fans are NOT reading a version of Murakami's work influenced by the people Karashima portrays in Who We're Reading When We're Reading Murakami - and that would be fine, if the publisher would not mislead potential readers with a lofty blurb that misrepresents the focus and scope of this book.
February 27, 2021
2.5/5stars
I truly didn't see the point of this book. While it did get a bit better in the end and did delve a bit into translation decisions such as debates about taking scenes out or retranslating them from the original direct one, and I did enjoy where it discussed what Murakami himself has said and done, mostly this book is simple a biography of the translators Murakami has had over the years and the work they've done. It's important, but not really what I wanted out of this book.
I truly didn't see the point of this book. While it did get a bit better in the end and did delve a bit into translation decisions such as debates about taking scenes out or retranslating them from the original direct one, and I did enjoy where it discussed what Murakami himself has said and done, mostly this book is simple a biography of the translators Murakami has had over the years and the work they've done. It's important, but not really what I wanted out of this book.
May 18, 2021
Excellent book about the editors, translators, book cover designers, agents and publishers behind the phenomenal success of Haruki Murakami.
March 12, 2021
Enough interesting bits about the different translators and editors to award a generous third star but could've been condensed into a long article and would've more than sufficed, for me at least. Didn't know that Murakami was in Princeton in the early '90s -- I'm sure he spent a lot of time at the Record Exchange. I wonder if I ever saw him there when home from college for vacations?
February 15, 2022
This was a pretty good read on Murakami books.
Particularly interesting was Murakami's writing process and how his translations were done to get the books worldwide - specifically English.
I also found the book gave some great insight into the receptions on Murakami's books and some prominent thoughts, themes, and changes made to the books over the years. Also, there were some interesting discussions about the plots and how the publishers fought with Murakami to get him to do anything press-related.
Would recommend if you are a Murakami fan.
3.5/5
Particularly interesting was Murakami's writing process and how his translations were done to get the books worldwide - specifically English.
I also found the book gave some great insight into the receptions on Murakami's books and some prominent thoughts, themes, and changes made to the books over the years. Also, there were some interesting discussions about the plots and how the publishers fought with Murakami to get him to do anything press-related.
Would recommend if you are a Murakami fan.
3.5/5
May 11, 2020
An interesting look at the introduction of Haruki Murakami to the Western market -- specifically the moves that translated him to English and brought him to America, leading up to the publication of THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, at which point he was a bona fide international superstar. It was intriguing to hear from his first two pivotal translators, Jay Rubin and Alfred Birnbaum, and to hear from Murakami himself about that time, although I had the unsettling feeling the whole time that this was all so ~slight~ -- which isn't to say there could've/should've been more to the book, or the story, but at about 250 pages, there's definitely a "for the superfans" quality to this book.
Me personally, having just decided to (for the time being anyway) give up on Murakami after years of diminishing returns, it was a quirky little capstone to that decision, particularly to keep in mind that translation often has as much to do with what we think about an author as anything else.
Me personally, having just decided to (for the time being anyway) give up on Murakami after years of diminishing returns, it was a quirky little capstone to that decision, particularly to keep in mind that translation often has as much to do with what we think about an author as anything else.
September 19, 2020
Probably the book I purchased and devoured the fastest this year. Karashima gives us a lot of insider information from e-mails and interviews with translators, editors and publishers involved in Murakami's astounding worldwide success. Yet the book left me wanting to know more. While the biographies of Birnbaum and Luke are very detailed, the same can't be said about other parts of the Murakami story: how did Murakami become famous in Japan in the first place before he was even considered as someone that could have success in other countries? And how was he received in other countries? This book is, of course, US/New York centric, and ends with a note on the UK, but what about Murakami's story in other countries of the world? How does the Murakami office work? This might not be the focus of the world, but considering that in many countries Murakami was translated from the English, not the Japanese original, this becomes quite significant.
I still gave it a high rating because information on this topic is rare, and I don't think I'm the only one who always wanted to look behind the scenes.
I still gave it a high rating because information on this topic is rare, and I don't think I'm the only one who always wanted to look behind the scenes.
April 20, 2023
It helps, of course, if you love Murakami, as I do. As well as the art of translation.
This book has both.
Mostly of great interest but dragged a little in parts. Well worth the read if you're interested in either of the above.
This book has both.
Mostly of great interest but dragged a little in parts. Well worth the read if you're interested in either of the above.
September 13, 2020
I've read a lot (but not all) of Murakami books. I hope to get to at least a couple of the ones that I haven't read yet by the end of the year. He is definitely one of my favorite authors...quirky, clever, moody.
So, when I saw this non-fiction work pop up on a list of upcoming releases I jumped all over it. In this short book, author David Karashima discusses how Murakami came to be translated into English and gain popularity. He introduces us to the various translators, editors and publishers who through the past 30 or so years, brought Murakami's books to an English-speaking audience. Murakami's works were written in Japanese and gained some popularity in Japan. we also here of Murakami's time in America when he was on staff at Princeton University and Tufts University.
This book actually not only let me learn more about Murakami but also more about the process of translating a book. It was fascinating to me. I read a good number of books in translation and have always wondered a bit about how they are translated. I recommend this book to any Murakami fan!
thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
So, when I saw this non-fiction work pop up on a list of upcoming releases I jumped all over it. In this short book, author David Karashima discusses how Murakami came to be translated into English and gain popularity. He introduces us to the various translators, editors and publishers who through the past 30 or so years, brought Murakami's books to an English-speaking audience. Murakami's works were written in Japanese and gained some popularity in Japan. we also here of Murakami's time in America when he was on staff at Princeton University and Tufts University.
This book actually not only let me learn more about Murakami but also more about the process of translating a book. It was fascinating to me. I read a good number of books in translation and have always wondered a bit about how they are translated. I recommend this book to any Murakami fan!
thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
October 9, 2020
This book was a little bit different than what I was expecting.
I was anticipating a book that would discuss in detail the difficulties of translating from Japanese to English and of translation in general, but instead this book talks a lot more about the BUSINESS of translation.
It tracks in almost painstaking detail the relationship between Murakami, his editors, his publishers, his translators and his agent from the early 80s to the late 90s.
Still, it was illuminating to learn more about the business side of the book industry, especially how a foreign author like Murakami can try to break into the American market.
The other thing that was interesting was realizing that translators sometimes have very strong opinions about the books they translate. And they can really change the book, sometimes by cutting stuff they deem irrelevant or by significantly changing the style.
Overall, I think I will be a lot more wary from now on when I read fiction in translation.
I was anticipating a book that would discuss in detail the difficulties of translating from Japanese to English and of translation in general, but instead this book talks a lot more about the BUSINESS of translation.
It tracks in almost painstaking detail the relationship between Murakami, his editors, his publishers, his translators and his agent from the early 80s to the late 90s.
Still, it was illuminating to learn more about the business side of the book industry, especially how a foreign author like Murakami can try to break into the American market.
The other thing that was interesting was realizing that translators sometimes have very strong opinions about the books they translate. And they can really change the book, sometimes by cutting stuff they deem irrelevant or by significantly changing the style.
Overall, I think I will be a lot more wary from now on when I read fiction in translation.
December 8, 2020
A good book for anyone who has the right amount of interest in Murakami's writing and the publishing industry. My main interest was in how his work was translated, and I enjoyed the parts about the translators and the impact they had on how English speakers read Murakami's work.
July 26, 2020
Who We're Reading When We're Reading Murakami by David Karashima is an interesting glimpse at both the work of translating as well as the making of Murakami as an international phenomenon.
First, since I saw at least one review that read the book blurb from a very specific perspective and was thus disappointed, I want to clarify what this book is and isn't. the blurb states clearly this is about the making of Murakami's international fame, not a history of it. So, using my home country as an example, if one reads a book about the making of the US, there probably won't be anything much covered after 1800. Same here, what kick-started the international acclaim was breaking into the US market, so that is what is covered here. To complain that the book does indeed do what it claims just because you misunderstood the blurb and wanted a different book is grossly misleading. Okay, so now we know how to read the book blurb...
This is a fascinating look behind the scenes at how an author becomes known outside the language in which he writes. In this case, it is someone whose fame took off once he was known, in part because of the work of bringing the work to a wider audience and in part because it happened early enough in his career that his growth could be followed by readers in other languages.
I have read several books over the last year or two about translating and the work of translation, mostly written from the perspective of the translator and written in broad terms even when referencing specific works. Those were very interesting and definitely, for me, set the stage for this book. Here we get details about translations of one author but with multiple translators offering insights. We also see just how much the economic side of the equation plays a role. At one point it is mentioned that, if the first foray into the US market had been ten years later, less money thus less attention would have been allocated. Would it have been as successful? Who knows, but it would certainly have had a different trajectory.
While having read Murakami will help to make this book far more interesting, I think readers who are less familiar with his work can still get a lot from it. The specifics of this author and his translations illustrates the range of things, from coincidences to finances to degree of input of the author, that goes into making literature of one culture or language accessible to others.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
First, since I saw at least one review that read the book blurb from a very specific perspective and was thus disappointed, I want to clarify what this book is and isn't. the blurb states clearly this is about the making of Murakami's international fame, not a history of it. So, using my home country as an example, if one reads a book about the making of the US, there probably won't be anything much covered after 1800. Same here, what kick-started the international acclaim was breaking into the US market, so that is what is covered here. To complain that the book does indeed do what it claims just because you misunderstood the blurb and wanted a different book is grossly misleading. Okay, so now we know how to read the book blurb...
This is a fascinating look behind the scenes at how an author becomes known outside the language in which he writes. In this case, it is someone whose fame took off once he was known, in part because of the work of bringing the work to a wider audience and in part because it happened early enough in his career that his growth could be followed by readers in other languages.
I have read several books over the last year or two about translating and the work of translation, mostly written from the perspective of the translator and written in broad terms even when referencing specific works. Those were very interesting and definitely, for me, set the stage for this book. Here we get details about translations of one author but with multiple translators offering insights. We also see just how much the economic side of the equation plays a role. At one point it is mentioned that, if the first foray into the US market had been ten years later, less money thus less attention would have been allocated. Would it have been as successful? Who knows, but it would certainly have had a different trajectory.
While having read Murakami will help to make this book far more interesting, I think readers who are less familiar with his work can still get a lot from it. The specifics of this author and his translations illustrates the range of things, from coincidences to finances to degree of input of the author, that goes into making literature of one culture or language accessible to others.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
November 1, 2021
This one needs a little background to set up, but Murakami had an unusually activist translator for his early books, in Alfred Birnbaum, who in some ways rewrote Murakami. As Murakami got bigger, he wanted (?) and got a more faithful translator and got Jay Rubin. In that moment of transition, Murakami achieved the kind of widespread recognition that he holds today. This story tells that story, with some striking interviews. It's a story of any writer in translation, but also a very particular story. I thought it was successful, but Karashima leads us to the conclusions without driving his agenda. For some people, that's great. For me, it was a little less than I wanted, since I was confident in his skills to do a little more pointed analysis. It's not an oral history, but at moments, it feels close to that.
I would have read another hundred-fifty pages to get further into Murakami's oeuvre, but I understand why we stop here, when the novelist really breaks through.
I would have read another hundred-fifty pages to get further into Murakami's oeuvre, but I understand why we stop here, when the novelist really breaks through.
May 22, 2021
A passionate account on the making of Haruki Murakami that brings translators and editors under the spotlight along with agents and publishers. A fascinating look at the literary and publishing world that everyone in the industry should take; Harukists and non-fans, writers and readers, translators, editors, agents, and surely publishers.
April 25, 2021
Although this book may be aimed at a niche audience of Murakami fans who are interested in the details of his early career, it is written in such an engaging and informative way that it takes on a life of its own. The various editors and translators who shaped the English versions of the early novels emerge as leading characters in their own short stories, with Murakami as an occasional commentator. Sort of a “Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead” effect. It left me wanting to read more of David Karashima’s work.
July 27, 2020
A peek behind the curtain of the famed Murakami machine. Once the legendary Japanese author puts pen to table, the journey of his novels is far from over. "Who We're Reading..." dives into the history of the translation and publication of Murakami's work over the past five decades. A must have for the legion of fans of the author.
October 26, 2020
The title of this book is a playful twist on Murakami's memoir, What I talk about when I talk about running and that was what drew me to the book. This is a sheer celebration of Murakami, his work, his baby steps to global fame and how many people were behind it.
David Karishma has done his research well and for that I applaud him. He has trace back the earliest of communications that were exchanged between the author, translators, editors and publishers. Giving a glimpse into what makes or breaks an author, especially in American market. More on the business side of publishing, we do get a letter or email that reminds us how much of a personal affair is getting one's books translated and accepted by a wider audience.
The different translators who have come and gone throughout these years, the creative liberty that some have taken for certain books, what goes through the mind of our much reclusive authors mind, all these intrigued me.
So basically it was me fangirling for most of the book and then feeling really upset when the book ended abruptly like that, I wanted MORE. (they only discuss till 1993)
Read it if you love Murakami or in general if you are interested in translations :)
David Karishma has done his research well and for that I applaud him. He has trace back the earliest of communications that were exchanged between the author, translators, editors and publishers. Giving a glimpse into what makes or breaks an author, especially in American market. More on the business side of publishing, we do get a letter or email that reminds us how much of a personal affair is getting one's books translated and accepted by a wider audience.
The different translators who have come and gone throughout these years, the creative liberty that some have taken for certain books, what goes through the mind of our much reclusive authors mind, all these intrigued me.
So basically it was me fangirling for most of the book and then feeling really upset when the book ended abruptly like that, I wanted MORE. (they only discuss till 1993)
Read it if you love Murakami or in general if you are interested in translations :)
January 8, 2021
This book is so niche but so good. Obviously, as the title suggests, you need to have read Murakami’s books to enjoy and even understand what they are talking about. The chronology, the bureaucracy and intricacies of translations ... all about how Murakami became an icon. Very interesting!
December 18, 2020
Full review available on my blog.
As I looked at the chapter titles, I was immediately disappointed that this book was only going to go as far as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which was published in English in the U.S. in 1997. Murakami has published many books since, and while I suppose having an equally thorough account of all of them would have made this book incredibly long, I was still hungry for the information. With that said, that is pretty much my only substantial issue with this book. It is interesting hearing from the translators and editors who tackled Murakami's work in an attempt to bring him over to an English-reading audience. Translation seems like hard, arduous work, so getting even a peak at the process is enlightening. And being able to hear from Murakami himself added to my own perception of him as an unassuming, somewhat shy, humble, yet ambitious writer. Anyone who is at all curious about this author's appeal and transition to the global market will hold the information Karashima presented as invaluable.
As I looked at the chapter titles, I was immediately disappointed that this book was only going to go as far as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which was published in English in the U.S. in 1997. Murakami has published many books since, and while I suppose having an equally thorough account of all of them would have made this book incredibly long, I was still hungry for the information. With that said, that is pretty much my only substantial issue with this book. It is interesting hearing from the translators and editors who tackled Murakami's work in an attempt to bring him over to an English-reading audience. Translation seems like hard, arduous work, so getting even a peak at the process is enlightening. And being able to hear from Murakami himself added to my own perception of him as an unassuming, somewhat shy, humble, yet ambitious writer. Anyone who is at all curious about this author's appeal and transition to the global market will hold the information Karashima presented as invaluable.
September 20, 2020
One of these days, I will learn that whenever a US publication about something non-American in origin speaks of how it came to be introduced to "Western culture" and "the international market", what it means is "US culture" and "the US market" with anything else in the world tacked on as a mere afterthought. Interesting enough if you like Murakami's work and are interested in the world of book translations and publishing, but I was hoping for a wider look at the success of Murakami's work with a global rather than just American audience.
June 23, 2020
An absolutely fascinating look behind the scenes and the many voices that go into translation work. I loved all the details that lead Murakami’s editors, translators to translate into English the worlds that Murakami Imagines.
June 10, 2021
Interesting background/interviews on the earlier English language editors, translators and publishers responsible for bringing Haruki Murakami to the West.
Fast based read that made the challenging translation work and decision process alive covering issues related to the Japanese originals, editorial decisions etc.
I thought the translation battles / styles between Jay Rubin , Alfred Birnbaum, and others surprisingly fruitful. Full of wonderful egos and personalities and adds perspective on the translation lens when one reads Murakami.
Murakami himself is an interesting character riding the wave of editors, translators and publishers interest in a sort of detached Murakami-esque way.
Recommended. As my language development progresses in Japanese will think about the active role translations play and their context in reading.
Fast based read that made the challenging translation work and decision process alive covering issues related to the Japanese originals, editorial decisions etc.
I thought the translation battles / styles between Jay Rubin , Alfred Birnbaum, and others surprisingly fruitful. Full of wonderful egos and personalities and adds perspective on the translation lens when one reads Murakami.
Murakami himself is an interesting character riding the wave of editors, translators and publishers interest in a sort of detached Murakami-esque way.
Recommended. As my language development progresses in Japanese will think about the active role translations play and their context in reading.
March 3, 2023
Interesting study of a long process that involved many. Kept getting surprised of how the author didn’t get mad at all hearing how editors butchered works to please what Anton Hur calls “the mythical English readers (that sometimes are not so mythical”. Even Murakami Haruki found himself not being able to say something about how the translators and editors cut thousand upon thousands of words from his original version. You might sell a million copies of a title in Japan yet you still get treated without respect by English translator/editor. The book records the power relations between Anglophone publishing industry and the rest of the world, but the author himself doesn’t say a thing about it. I wonder if it’s due to the nature of his relationship with the publishing industry?
August 27, 2020
WHO WE’RE READING WHEN WE’RE READING MURAKAMI by David Karashima is a compelling in depth look at the behind the scenes of bringing the English translations of Haruki Murakami’s early books to the US market.
.
I have read and loved several of Murakami’s books so I was immediately interested to read this book. It was really eye opening to learn about all the hard work and passion that went into the English translations of his books. The research and interviews in this book give great insight into the translating and publishing world. It was really enjoyable to read this book which itself is also translated from the Japanese.
.
It’s always a true marker for a good book when it inspires you to keep reading. Such is the case with this book. Halfway through reading this book I went to the library to borrow A Wild Sheep Chase.
.
I’d definitely recommend this book to Murakami fans!
.
Thank you to Soft Skull Press via NetGalley for my early review copy!
.
I have read and loved several of Murakami’s books so I was immediately interested to read this book. It was really eye opening to learn about all the hard work and passion that went into the English translations of his books. The research and interviews in this book give great insight into the translating and publishing world. It was really enjoyable to read this book which itself is also translated from the Japanese.
.
It’s always a true marker for a good book when it inspires you to keep reading. Such is the case with this book. Halfway through reading this book I went to the library to borrow A Wild Sheep Chase.
.
I’d definitely recommend this book to Murakami fans!
.
Thank you to Soft Skull Press via NetGalley for my early review copy!
May 24, 2021
I read this book for an upcoming Japanese literary translation workshop, and it provided so much insight into all of the work that has gone into creating Murakami's image and voice in the Western world. It spent more time discussing the process of editing, publishing, and marketing his novels than I thought it would (I expected it to focus more exclusively on translation), but I found all of it entertaining and story-like. It was like a behind-the-scenes look at Murakami's rise to international fame. I do wish that I had read more of the novels the book examines as milestones in his career, but I think it was interesting nonetheless, given that I had some prior knowledge about his style from his other work.
February 18, 2021
This was great. I devoured it. Very interesting book -- more about Murakami's early translators and editors, than the man himself. Follows how he broke the US (and then the world). I found it a really fun read.
Read
June 11, 2020interview tk
June 20, 2024
Editor:
A conduit who bridges the chasm between reality and what flutters in the air.
A conduit who bridges the chasm between reality and what flutters in the air.
May 31, 2021
I found this to be a fascinating book about a subject none of us think about: how much does a translator influence our view of a book written in another language? David Karashima brings Haruki Murakami's translators to life creating both a double biography and a nonfiction work on translation.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews