For author Haruki Murakami, reading fiction helps us ‘see through lies’ in a world divided by walls
By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
OVIEDO, Spain (AP) — Japanese author Haruki Murakami says he is torn by the conflict in Israel since he has Jewish friends but understands that the situation of the Palestinians is dire. He tells The Associated Press in an interview that we must pray for peace in Gaza. But he also feels confident that fiction can help us cope with increasingly perilous times by helping readers learn the wisdom found in refraining from making quick judgments. Murakami spoke before he received Spain’s Princess of Asturias prize for literature in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo.