Murakamis career as a writer began in classic Murakami style： Out of nowhere， in the most ordinary setting， a mystical truth suddenly descended upon him and changed his life forever.

Murakami， age 29， was sitting in the outfield at his local baseball stadium， drinking a beer， when an American batter hit a double. It was a normal-enough play， but as the ball flew through the air， an epiphany struck Murakami. He realized， suddenly， that he could write a novel. After the game， he went to a bookstore， bought a pen and some paper and over the next couple of months produced Hear the Wind Sing， a short， simple tale of a nameless 21-year-old narrator， his friend called Rat and a four-fingered woman. Nothing much happens， but the Murakami voice is there from the start： a strange mixture of ennui and exoticism.

Murakami submitted Hear the Wind Sing for a prestigious new writers prize and won. After another year and another novel， Murakami sold his jazz club in order to devote himself， full time， to writing.

For 30 years now， he has lived a monkishly regimented life， each facet of which has been precisely engineered to help him produce his work. He runs or swims long distances almost every day， eats a healthful diet， goes to bed around 9 p.m. and wakes up， without an alarm， around 4 a.m.， at which point he goes straight to his desk for five to six hours of concentrated writing.

“Concentration is one of the happiest things in my ife，” he said. “If you cannot concentrate， you are not so happy. Im not a fast thinker， but once I am interested in something， I am doing it for many years. I dont get bored.Im kind of a big kettle. It takes time to get boiled， but then Im always hot.”

Murakamis fiction has a special way of leaking into reality. He often hears from readers who have discovered his inventions in the real world： a restaurant or a shop that he thought he made up， they report， actually exists in Tokyo. After publishing 1Q84， Murakami received a letter from a family with the surname “Aomame”， a name so improbable he thought he invented it.

Murakami insists that， when hes not writing， he is an absolutely ordinary man. His creativity， he says， is a “blackbox” to which he has no conscious access. He tends to shy away from the media and is always surprised when a reader wants to shake his hand on the street. He says he much prefers to listen to other people talk. He is a member of a running club in Hawaii， by far the oldest in the group， he says. He runs， as he writes， every day. “Most of what I know about writing，” he has written， “Ive learned through running.” His running style is an extension of his personality： easy， steady， matter of fact. “I like to read books. I like to listen to music. I collect records and I like cats. I dont have any cats right now. But if I see a cat while running or taking a walk， Im happy，” he said.

村上春樹的寫作生涯是以經(jīng)典的“村上式”風(fēng)格開始的：在一個(gè)最普通不過的場(chǎng)景中，一個(gè)神秘的真理不知從哪里冒了出來，突然降臨到他身上，從而永遠(yuǎn)地改變了他的人生。

那年村上29歲，正坐在當(dāng)?shù)匕羟驁?chǎng)的外場(chǎng)喝啤酒。突然，一位美籍擊球員打出了一個(gè)二壘。這是非常普通的一擊，但當(dāng)棒球在空中劃過之時(shí)，村上腦海里突然閃現(xiàn)出一道靈光。他突然意識(shí)到自己可以寫小說。比賽結(jié)束后，他去了一家書店，買了筆和紙，在隨后的幾個(gè)月時(shí)間里寫出了《且聽風(fēng)吟》。這是一部篇幅不長(zhǎng)、敘事簡(jiǎn)略的故事。該故事寫的是一位21歲的無名敘述者和他名叫“耗子”的朋友以及一位四個(gè)手指的女性的故事。盡管情節(jié)并不復(fù)雜，但“村上式”的風(fēng)格從一開始就展露無遺：那種奇怪的、混合著倦怠和異國情調(diào)的味道。

村上以《且聽風(fēng)吟》角逐一個(gè)威望很高的新作家獎(jiǎng)，并贏得這一獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)。一年后，村上的另一部小說問世，之后他便賣掉了自己的爵士樂俱樂部，以便將全部時(shí)間投入寫作。

30年來，直到現(xiàn)在，他一直過著一種苦行僧般充滿清規(guī)戒律的生活，生活的每個(gè)方面都經(jīng)過精確的規(guī)劃，以輔助他完成創(chuàng)作。他幾乎每天都要進(jìn)行長(zhǎng)跑或者長(zhǎng)距離游泳，飲食健康，每晚9點(diǎn)左右就上床睡覺，早上4點(diǎn)左右不需要鬧鐘就能自然醒來，然后徑直走到書桌旁，伏案五六個(gè)小時(shí)，專心致志地寫作。

“能夠?qū)Ｐ膹氖聦懽魇俏乙簧凶羁鞓返氖轮?，”村上說，“如果不能專心，你就不會(huì)如此快樂。我不是一個(gè)思維敏捷的人，但我一旦對(duì)什么有了興趣，就能堅(jiān)持多年不變。我不會(huì)感到厭倦。我有點(diǎn)像一只大水壺，需要多花點(diǎn)時(shí)間才能燒開，但燒開之后就會(huì)一直保持熱度。”

村上的小說有一種特別的滲透現(xiàn)實(shí)的方法。他常常收到讀者來信，說他們?cè)诂F(xiàn)實(shí)世界里發(fā)現(xiàn)了他的創(chuàng)造物：一家飯店或者商店。他原本以為這是自己的創(chuàng)造，但讀者卻說它們真實(shí)地存在于東京。在《1Q84》出版之后，村上收到了一個(gè)姓“青豆”（《1Q84》中的女主角叫“青豆”）的家庭的來信。這個(gè)姓氏非常罕見，村上以為是自己虛構(gòu)出來的。

村上堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為自己不寫作時(shí)是個(gè)地地道道的普通人。他說他的創(chuàng)造力是個(gè)“黑匣子”，無法在有意識(shí)的狀態(tài)下進(jìn)入。他經(jīng)常躲避媒體，當(dāng)讀者在大街上要和他握手時(shí)，他總是感到很意外。他說他更喜歡聽別人說話。他是夏威夷一家跑步俱樂部成員，他說目前成員中數(shù)他年齡最大。正如每天都要寫作一樣，他每天也要跑步。他曾經(jīng)寫道：“我的大部分寫作知識(shí)都是通過跑步學(xué)到的?！彼呐懿斤L(fēng)格就是他個(gè)性的延伸：放松、穩(wěn)定、務(wù)實(shí)?！拔蚁矚g讀書，喜歡聽音樂，我收藏唱片，也喜歡貓，我現(xiàn)在沒養(yǎng)貓。但如果在跑步或者散步時(shí)看到貓，我會(huì)非常高興，”村上說。