John Crace digests Murakami's latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage, and wonders if the bestselling Japanese author has bleached the life out of his fiction

John Crace's satirical Digested read columns have become a Guardian institution, reducing the most newsworthy books of the year to an essential 600 words. Here he catches up with Haruki Murakami, the Japanese cult novelist whose books have become international events, and wonders whether he has taken his title too literally. Die-hard fan Dale Berning explains why, for the faithful, Murakami's deadpan prose will never lose its lustre.

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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage: the digested read

Full of signature flourishes: Mark Lawson reviews Colorless Tsukuru