TOKYO: The eagerly-awaited English translation of Haruki Murakami's latest novel could hit bookstores next year, a Japanese newspaper has reported.

“Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi (Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)” was released last month in Japanese, with the publisher ordering a million copies in the first week.

Murakami's legion of fans around the world are waiting with baited breath for the translation, which is being worked on by University of Arizona professor Philip Gabriel, the Asahi Shimbun said.

Gabriel, who worked on the smash trilogy “1Q84” with former Harvard University scholar Jay Rubin, expected to have finished the translation by the end of this year, with publication expected next year, the paper said last week.

Murakami's latest novel tells the story of a young man struggling with an ordeal in his past, who uses the support offered by a romance to get back on his feet.

Murakami's works, which have drawn international praise and been translated into around 40 languages, include “Norwegian Wood”, “Kafka on the Shore” and “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”.