Murakami’s new book title echoes lost work from 1980

Internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami's upcoming novel now has a name but still no inkling of the plot has been released.  

However, speculation is rife that "The City and Its Uncertain Walls" is inevitably linked to or even a sequel to one of his early works. 

Shinchosha Publishing Co. unveiled the book’s title on March 1, a month after it announced the release date of April 13.

The title is familiar to Murakami's legions of fans around the world. 

Murakami published a novella by the same name in a literary magazine in 1980, a year after his debut.

Written immediately after his second book “Pinball 1973,” the short novel has never been published in book form and has long been sought after by devoted fans.

The lost work, however, eventually developed into an integral part of his 1985 masterpiece, “Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.”

As to the contents of Murakami's newest book, the publisher hasn't given the slightest hint. 

It will be Murakami’s first novel in six years after “Kishidancho-goroshi” (Killing Commendatore), also published by Shinchosha.