Amy Chaez talks with Lena Baibikov who has translated Haruki Murakami’s non-fiction works from Japanese into Russian. Lena has translated What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Radio Murakami and a book of Murakami’s short stories as well as works by authors such as Banana Yoshimoto, Ryu Murakami, and Yukio Mishima and several children’s book authors. This podcast recording takes place in Lena’s kitchen in Ashiya, just 100 meters from where Murakami’s parents lived until the Kobe Earthquake of 1995. Lena also took Amy on a tour of the neighborhood Murakami grew up in. She tells us how she got started translating and what it is that intrigues her about Murakami’s works.

Recorded on December 15, 2019.

See Books on Asia Issue 6: What you Don’t Know About Haruki Murakami https://booksonasia.net/category/issues/issue-6/

Show Notes here: https://booksonasia.net/podcast/hon-podcast-6-lena-baibikov-translator-of-haruki-murakami-non-fiction/

The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, publisher of fine books on Asia for over 30 years: https://www.stonebridge.com

The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press. Check out their books on Japan at the publisher's website.

Amy Chavez, podcast host, is author of Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan and The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island.

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