EZCNN 易英网

Haruki Murakami: Japan’s Storytelling Genius 村上春树的故事部屋

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

There are few, if any, authors in the world today who enjoy a more loyal and devoted following than Haruki Murakami. His singular writing style and gift for storytelling that effortlessly mix the familiar with the fantastical have helped his fame spread well beyond the shores of his native Japan.

在今天的世界，很少有作者（如果有的话）能够拥有比村上春树还要多的忠实且专一的支持者了。他独树一帜的写作风格及擅长说故事的天赋，轻松地将熟悉的事物与想象元素融合，让他不仅在祖国日本赫赫有名，还扬名海外。

 

In keeping with the surreal nature of many of his novels, Murakami’s writing career got started in rather unusual circumstances. One sunny afternoon in 1978, he was watching a baseball game when, at the moment one of the players hit a home run, Murakami realized he wanted to write a novel. He started work on the novel, entitled Hear the Wind Sing, that very night, and it went on to win first prize in a magazine’s literary contest.

与他许多小说中的超现实特质相符，村上春树的写作生涯是在相当不寻常的状况下展开的。1978年某个阳光普照的下午，他正在看一场棒球赛，就在某位球员击出全垒打的那一刻，村上春树发现自己想要写一本小说。他当晚便着手撰写名为《听风的歌》的小说，此书后来还获得某杂志文学竞赛的首奖。

 

At the time he started down this new path as a writer, Murakami was running a jazz club that he’d opened up soon after leaving university. Although he loved working around music, he wasn’t a naturally talkative person, and was never totally comfortable making conversation with customers every night. In any case, by the time Murakami’s third novel, A Wild Sheep Chase, was published in 1982, he had sold the jazz club to concentrate on writing full-time. Murakami’s passion for all kinds of music is evident from the many musical references in many of his stories. The titles of some of his novels are even taken directly from songs. One such novel is Norwegian Wood. Named after a song by The Beatles, this is the work that really propelled Murakami into the big time.

在村上春树刚步上职业作家这条新跑道时，他同时经营一间自他大学毕业后就开业的爵士音乐俱乐部。虽然他喜欢从事与音乐有关的工作，但他天生并不是个健谈的人，每晚找话题和顾客聊天也从未让他感到自在。无论如何，到了1982年村上春树的第三本小说《寻羊冒险记》出版时，他把爵士音乐俱乐部卖掉，以便全心投入专职写作。村上春树对各类音乐的热情，可以从他在许多故事中大量引用音乐明显看出。他有些小说的书名甚至直接采用了歌曲名称，其中一例是《挪威的森林》。而这本以「披头四」的一首歌曲命名的小说是真正让村上春树在文坛大放异彩的推手。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

genius [ˋdʒinjəs] n. 天才; 对别人有巨大影响的人

loyal [ˋlɔɪəl] adj. 忠实的; 忠诚的

devoted [dɪˋvotɪd] adj. 虔诚的；专心致志的

following [ˋfɑləwɪŋ] n. 一批追随者

singular [ˋsɪŋgjəlɚ] adj. 非凡的; 卓越的; 奇特的

effortlessly [ˋɛfɚtlɪslɪ] adv. 轻松地，毫不费劲地

in keeping with 与...一致

circumstance [ˋsɝkəm͵stæns] n. 情况; 环境；情势

entitle [ɪnˋtaɪt!] v. 给（书等）题名

contest [ˋkɑntɛst] n. 竞赛，比赛

in any case  无论如何  regardless of what has occurred or will occur

concentrate [ˋkɑnsɛn͵tret] v. 全神贯注[（+on/upon）]

evident [ˋɛvədənt] adj. 明显的

reference [ˋrɛfərəns] n. 参考; 出处; 提及

propel [prəˋpɛl] v. 推动；驱策

 

More Information

单词发音

 

storytelling [ˋstorɪ͵tɛlɪŋ] n. 讲故事；写故事

fantastical [fæn`tæstɪk!]] adj. 虚构的; 空想的

surreal [səˋriəl] adj. 超现实的

talkative [ˋtɔkətɪv] adj. 爱说话的; 健谈的

big time 〔演艺界或政治上的〕头号地位; 最高成就; 第一流水平 the most prestigious level of attainment in a competitive field

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Published in 1987, Norwegian Wood sold a staggering 3.5 million copies in Japan in its first year alone. Its storyline is probably the most conventional of all Murakami’s novels, following a young college student, Toru, as he grapples with his love for two very different women. While the mysterious and melancholy Naoko holds a fascination for him, Toru also finds himself drawn to one of his classmates, the feisty and emotional Midori. With its musings on love, loss, and life, this coming-of-age story has come to be viewed as required reading for just about every young person in Japan.

1987年出版的《挪威的森林》在第一年便售出了350万册的惊人数量。它的故事情节应是村上春树所有小说中最传统的了。故事随着一个年轻的男大学生渡边(Toru)发展，描写他爱上两名截然不同女子的挣扎。虽然他爱慕神秘且忧郁的直子(Naoko)，渡边发现自己同时也被活泼又感性的同学绿(Midori)所吸引。书中深刻思索爱情、失去与人生等课题，这本成长小说已被视为几乎每个日本年轻人都必读的经典。

 

Unlike Norwegian Wood, most of Murakami’s stories are full of strange elements. For example, one of the main characters in Kafka on the Shore is an elderly man who one day discovers he can talk to cats. In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, the narrator has a series of vivid hallucinations while lying at the bottom of a deep well that he discovers behind his house. Just like the reader, Murakami’s heroes have little idea of where events are leading them or what will happen next.

与《挪威的森林》不同的是，村上春树大多数的作品都充满了诡谲元素。举例而言，《海边的卡夫卡》的主角之一，是一位某天突然发现自己可以与猫沟通的老人。而在《发条鸟年代记》里，叙述者在自家后面发现了一口深井，躺在井底时，他产生了一连串逼真的幻觉。跟读者一样，村上春树书中的主人翁对事件会带领他们前往何处，或接下来会发生何事几乎毫无头绪。

 

Murakami also finds time to deal with social issues, such as Japanese war crimes committed during World War II, in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and the phenomenon of religious cults, in his latest novel, 1Q84. He has even tried his hand at non-fiction with books including Underground, which explores the 1995 sarin gas terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway. Whether he’s dealing with the real world or the imaginary, Murakami’s writing never fails to enthrall.

村上春树也会讨论社会议题，例如《发条鸟年代记》是描述二次世界大战时日本所犯下的战争犯罪；而在他最近一部小说《IQ84》中，则是探讨宗教狂热的现象。他甚至还尝试了纪实文学，这类书有《地下铁事件》，该书探究1995年东京地下铁沙林毒气的恐怖攻击事件。不管是处理真实或者想象世界题材，村上春树的作品总能成功地引人入胜。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

staggering [ˋstægərɪŋ] adj. 惊人的; 难以相信的

mysterious [mɪsˋtɪrɪəs] adj. 神秘的

fascination [͵fæsnˋeʃən] n. 令人着迷的事物; 吸引力

emotional [ɪˋmoʃən!] adj. 易动情的；感情脆弱的

view [vju] v. 将……看成是[O][（+as/with）] to think of in a particular way; regard

required [rɪˋkwaɪrd] adj. 必须的；【美】（学科）必修的

narrator [næˋretɚ] n. 叙述者，讲述者

a series of 一连串的; 一系列的

commit [kəˋmɪt] v. 犯（罪），做（错事等）

phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n. 现象

try one's hand at 试着做某事

explore [ɪkˋsplor] v. 探讨; 探索

terrorist [ˋtɛrərɪst] n. 恐怖主义者；恐怖分子

fail to 未能…

enthrall  [ɪnˋθrɔl] v. 迷住；吸引住

 

More Information

单词发音

 

storyline [ˋstorɪ͵laɪn] n. 故事情节

conventional [kənˋvɛnʃən!] adj. 传统式的; 普通的

grapple [ˋgræp!] v. 努力解决（问题等）[(+with)]

melancholy [ˋmɛlən͵kɑlɪ] adj. 忧郁的，郁闷的

feisty [ˋfaɪstɪ] adj. 活跃的; 顽强自信的; 好争辩的

musing [ˋmjuzɪŋ] n. 沉思 contemplation; meditation

coming-of-age 成长; 成年，成熟

hallucination [hə͵lusnˋeʃən] n. 幻觉, 幻想

cult [kʌlt] n. 狂热崇拜，迷信；狂热

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Despite his immense popularity, Murakami is not an author who enjoys the limelight, and he refuses to appear on television or radio. Indeed, once he began to achieve success in Japan in the mid-1980s, he chose to move abroad rather than be subjected to the media attention that came with his newfound fame. After traveling through Europe, he eventually settled in the United States, where he stayed until finally returning to Japan around ten years later. A fluent English speaker, Murakami has long been strongly attracted to the West, while feeling conflicted about his homeland. As a result, he has never been fully accepted by Japan’s literary establishment.

虽然他大受欢迎，村上春树却不是个喜欢成为瞩目焦点的作家，他更拒绝上电视或者广播节目。实际上，1980年代中期他在日本声名鹊起后，就选择移居海外，不想因甫崛起的人气受媒体瞩目而使生活受到牵制。在游遍欧洲后，他最后决定定居美国，他在美国旅居十年左右之后，才又再返回日本。村上春树能说一口流利的英语，他一直深受西方文化吸引，同时对自己的祖国抱有矛盾的情绪。因此他从未被日本文学界完全接纳。

 

Wherever he has lived over the past few decades, Murakami tries to stick to the same rigorous daily schedule. He typically gets up at 4 a.m., writes for around four hours, then goes for a 10 km run, before devoting the afternoon to translating. Running is a vital part of Murakami’s life, so much so that he’s even published a mini-autobiography on his favorite pastime, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Every year, he runs a full marathon, and he’s even completed a grueling 100 km “ultramarathon.” He has commented that when he dies, he would like the phrase “at least he never walked” on his tombstone.

不论过去数十年他居住在何地，村上春树都试着遵守同一套严格的作息表。他通常清晨四点起床，花四小时左右的时间写作，随后大约慢跑十公里，再把下午的时间全部花在翻译上面。跑步在村上春树的生活中是很重要的一部份，重要到他还为了这个最喜欢的休闲活动出版了一本名为《关于跑步，我说的其实是……》的迷你自传。每年他都会参加一次全程马拉松，他有次甚至跑完了长达100公里叫人吃不消的「终极马拉松」。他曾说过，当他死后要将「至少他从未走路过」这段文字刻在墓碑上。

 

Both in his energetic lifestyle and in his remarkable writing, there is so much to admire about Haruki Murakami. He has even been named as a contender for the ultimate honor for writers, the Nobel Prize for Literature. But even if that never happens, his place as one of the world’s greatest living authors is assured.

充满活力的生活方式加上出类拔萃的写作，村上春树着实有许多令人欣赏崇拜之处。他还曾被提名为诺贝尔文学奖的候选人，该文学奖对作家来说是最高的荣耀。但就算他没有得奖，他是当今世上最伟大的作家之一的地位是无庸置疑的。

 

−by David Vickers

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

popularity [͵pɑpjəˋlærətɪ] n. 受欢迎; 声望

limelight [ˋlaɪm͵laɪt] n. 众人注目的中心

be subjected to 遭受, 经受. 受到…控制

fame [fem] n. 声誉，名望

fluent [ˋfluənt] adj. 流利的，流畅的

conflicted [kənˋflɪktɪd] adj. 矛盾的，冲突的

stick to 坚持

rigorous [ˋrɪgərəs] adj. 严格的

autobiography [͵ɔtəbaɪˋɑgrəfɪ] n. 自传

grueling [ˋgruəlɪŋ] adj. 累垮人的；令人受不了的

energetic [͵ɛnɚˋdʒɛtɪk] adj. 精力旺盛的

remarkable [rɪˋmɑrkəb!] adj. 非凡的；卓越的

contender [kənˋtɛndɚ] n. 争夺者；竞争者

ultimate [ˋʌltəmɪt] adj. 最后的，最终的

assured [əˋʃʊrd] adj. 确定的

 

More Information

单词发音

 

newfound [ˈnjuˌfaʊnd] adj. 新发现的; 新得到的

establishment [ɪsˋtæblɪʃmənt] n.（通常反对变革的）当权派

so much so that 以至于; 如此地 to such a great degree

pastime [ˋpæs͵taɪm] n. 消遣；娱乐

marathon [ˋmærə͵θɑn] n. 马拉松赛跑

tombstone [ˋtum͵ston] n. 墓石﹐ 墓碑

 

 

巡游村上春树电影《挪威的森林》取景地【日本兵库县】