«Speaking as an Unrealistic Dreamer Speech by Murakami Haruki on the occasion of receiving the International Catalunya Prize via Japan Focus

Translated by Emanuel Pastreich (Japanese translation available)
I last visited Barcelona two years ago in the spring. An amazing number of readers gathered when I held a book signing. Long lines formed and I still could not finish signing all the books even after one and a half hours. The reason it took so long is that so many of the female readers wanted to kiss me. That was time consuming.
I have held book signings in many cities around the world, but Barcelona was the only place in the world where the female readers asked for kisses. That one example is sufficient evidence of just what a fantastic city Barcelona is. And what good fortune it is that I have another chance to return to this city whose beautiful streets are resplendent with refined culture and a long history.

But, unfortunately, I am not going to talk about kisses today. I must talk about something a bit more serious.

Continue reading at Speaking as an Unrealistic Dreamer Speech by Murakami Haruki on the occasion of receiving the International Catalunya Prize

This entry was posted in *English and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply