After a long wait of six years since the previous novelHaruki Murakami and a release in France hoped for two years and its publication in Japan, the new novel by the Japanese writer The City of Uncertain Walls did not miss its debut in bookstores, ranking directly at 9e place in our Top 20 GFK/Weekly Books from the first week of the year after its publication by Belfond on January 2.
Critic enthusiasm
Translated from Japanese by Helene Moritawith the collaboration of Tomoko Onothis new title by the most widely read Japanese novelist in the world, sold in around fifty countries, won over critics before the “Harukists”, the name for fans of the almost 76-year-old author. The 560 pages of the novel immerse us one summer evening in the land of the rising sun. While walking with an enigmatic young girl, a 17-year-old young man hears about a distant city surrounded by high walls and which is particularly difficult to enter.
Out of love for the young girl, who has disappeared, he goes looking for her and begins a sort of quest for identity. Having lost his shadow, he becomes a dream reader in a library. Here we find all the keys to the universe of Haruki Murakami, who took up his pen again during the Covid-19 pandemic. “One” of World of booksdocumentary on Arte and numerous reviews in the magazine press, unanimous on the quality of the work, accompanied the release of the novel. Result: nearly 8,000 sales in four days, according to GFK data transmitted by the publisher.
Still waiting for the Nobel
Murakami’s previous work, The Murder of the Commander, published in France in 2018 in two volumes (Belfond), sold a cumulative 128,000 copies in France for the two large formats, as well as 67,000 and 55,000 for the paperback volumes published by 10/18 in 2019, according to the institute. Among his best-known titles are, in addition to The ride of the impossible (Threshold, 1994), Springbird Chronicles (Threshold, 2001), Kafka on the shore (Belfond, 2006) or even 1Q84 (Belfond, 2011).
His news Drive my car (Men and womenBelfond, 2017) was adapted for the cinema. The film won the Oscar for best foreign film in 2022. 45 years after his debut as a writer, this son of a literature teacher, himself a professor at Princeton in the United States in the 1990s and who also lived in Europe, has remained on the “nobel eligible” list for several years.
Top 20 GFK/Weekly Books of the week
Three entries to note this week in the ranking of all genres combined: The City of Uncertain Walls of Haruki Murakami (Belfond, 9e), Weapons of Light of Ken Follett (The Pocket Book, 16e) et Kings of Sin. Vol.1 d’Ana Huang (Hugo Roman, 20e).
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In the Novels category
They enter:
- The city with uncertain walls d’Haruki Murakami (Belfond, 3e)
- Kings of Sin. Vol.1 The Wrath d’Ana Huang (Hugo Roman, 9e)
- Bristol of Jean Echenoz (Midnight, 12e)
- Last evening of Lisa Gardner (Albin Michel, 13e)
- To our beating hearts d’Emma Green (Addictives, 15e)
- Ball at Versailles of Danielle Steel (Presses de la Cité, 20e)
The three biggest gains of the week:
- Say you swear of Meagan Brandy (Shingfoo, 48e) +36
- Captive. Vol. 1 of Sarah Rivens (Hell, 46e) +35
- Mad majesty. Vol. 1 of Delinda Dane (Hugo Roman, 42e) +35
The three biggest drops of the week:
- If it was you of Mary Higgins Clark (Albin Michel, 49e) -24
- Fort Alamo of Fabrice Caro (Gallimard, 37e) -23
- Impossible goodbyes d’Han Kang (Grasset, 41e) -20
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In the Essays category
They enter
-- Surname of Vanessa Springora (Grasset, 6e)
- Hold the line: 40 drawings for Charlie (2015-2025) of Jean-Noel Jeanneney (Gallimard, 18e)
They go up:
- About love of Bell Hooks (Divergences) +37
- Little book of Dior: The story of a legendary fashion house of Karen Homer (Place Des Victoires) +28
- Friendship Love Dictionary of François Morel (Lead) +27
They drop:
- Patriot: Memoirs d’Alexei Navalny (R. Laffont) -23
- The Voice of Women Laure Adler (Grasset) -22
- Liberty: Memoirs 1954-2021 d’Angela Merkel (Albin Michel) -18
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In the Pockets category
They enter
- Weapons of Light by Ken Follett (The Pocket Book, 5e)
- The summer before of Lisa Gardner (The Pocket Book, 8e)
- What I know about you d’Eric Chacour (Folio, 12e)
They go up
- No title progresses in the ranking this week.
They are falling
- The Symphony of Monsters of Marc Levy (Pocket, 18e) -4
- Kilometer zero: the path to happiness of Maud Ankaoua (I Read, 19e) -4
- Small Country of Gail Faye (The Pocket Book, 20e) -3
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In the Comics category
They go up:
- Mortal Adele. flight. 4. I don’t like love of Mr Tan (Bayard Jeunesse, 18e) +28
- Mortelle Adèle volume 2 L Enfer. it’s the others of Mr Tan (Bayard Jeunesse, 17e) +25
- The Quest for The Bird of Time: Before The Quest. Flight. 8. Omégon Serge Le Tendre (Dargaud, 14e) +14
They decrease:
- Don’t take idiots for people. Vol.1 d’Emmanuel Giant (Icy Fluid, 20e) -12
- The road of Manu Larcenet (Dargaud, 12e) -6
- Resources: a challenge for humanity of Philippe Bihouix (Casterman, 13e) -4
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