Notes About The Novel
Katayama had intended Socrates in Love as part of a trilogy to explore the concept and themes of youth and memories. His editors however decided to take advantage of the "Pure Love boom"--a Japanese media trend of novels and films that portray a chaste, undying and tragic love--by publishing the novel under Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World to appeal fans of tragic love stories. In spite of this, only 8,000 copies of the book were printed and distributed, due to the poor sales of Katayama's two previous novels.
A year after the novel's publication, celebrity actress Kou Shibasaki wrote in a guest column for Japanese monthly literary and pop culture magazine Da Vinci (March 2002 issue): "I read it thoroughly even though it made me cry. I wished to have a such relationship in my life." The book became a best-seller, due to Shibasaki's recommendation and the word of mouth. In May 2004 over 3 million copies were sold, surpassing the sales record of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. Shibasaki subsequently appeared in the 2004 film version.
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