Murakami Haruki: Immortal Artist or Falling Star? www.nippon.com

Thirty-nine years since he debuted with the novella Hear the Wind Sing, and 29 years since he broke into the global market with the novel A Wild Sheep Chase, Murakami Haruki is now 69 years of age. Only days before his latest tome, Killing Commendatore, appears in English translation, Japan’s best-known living author is clearly on the verge of something, but it is hard to say exactly what.