The Puget News

Haruki Murakami wrote the short story “Tony Takitani” based on a yellow T-shirt that he discovered and purchased in a Maui thrift shop. Something about that shirt and the Americanized Japanese name on it spoke to him of a story that needed to be written.

How many stories do you pass by every day? Take the time in the coming days to search for something small and incongruous. You’ll know you’ve found the item when an unanswerable question pops into your head - a place where fiction is almost certain to be more rewarding than the truth. Give yourself 10 minutes to commit it to paper (or computer) and I
guarantee that you’ll find the source of something deeper and more valuable to work with.

Resources:

Murakami, Haruki. “On the Adaptation of Toni Takitani.” Zoetrope: All-Story Summer 2006.

Well, I guess I know what I’ll be reading over my Christmas holiday. I can picture it now, “Against the Day” rocketing up the New York Times bestseller list as tens of thousands of pounds of new Pynchon pages sit snugly under Christmas trees throughout the land. How many of these will go unread just due to shear the sheer 900-plus-page intimidation factor? My guess - most of them.

Alas, I am bit of a Pynchon fiend, having read all of his works to date. No reason to stop now.

Pre-order your copy on Amazon.com today and we’ll talk about the novel after the holiday. Yes, I know it is 4 months away but when you know already with so much certitude what you’ll be doing, why not make plans now? Feel free to contact me if you want to meet about the book together. Pynchon is much more fun when you’re not alone.