NPR's Book of the Day

Haruki Murakami's longtime editor spills the tea on working with the master


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Lexy Bloom first read Haruki Murakami in the '90s, when she picked up A Wild Sheep Chase. At that point, not much of the Japanese author's work had been published in English. But Bloom often read his stories in The New Yorker, trying to guess which of his three translators had worked on each one. Bloom, who is now a senior editor at Knopf, began to edit Murakami's English translations years later, starting with 1Q84. Now, Murakami has a new novel out, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, a revision of an earlier novella. In today's episode, Bloom joins NPR's Andrew Limbong for a discussion that touches on what it's like to collaborate with Murakami, feminist critiques of the author's female characters, and reading the author's work through a Western lens.

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