Editor's Note: This month's Purple Prose previously appeared as an online exclusive in our spring 2009 issue. We're always on the lookout for fresh alumni insights. If you'd like to submit an essay, ...

We're always on the lookout for fresh alumni insights. If you'd like to submit an essay, see our guidelines for Purple Prose submissions.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Shortly before the release of A Wild Sheep Chase, the gleefully madcap debut that shot him to instant stardom, Haruki Murakami ...