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寫作滿三十年前夕

村上春樹透過談跑步? 道出自己不為人所知的寫作觀

25年前村上春樹開始他的第一次跑步，那是1982年的秋天，三十三歲那一年，寫完《尋羊冒險記》，村上先生因為戒菸而體重增加，為了減肥，開始了他的第一步。從那以後村上接連不斷地跑，他曾經跑完雅典的全程馬拉松，也參加波士頓馬拉松比賽，平日每天幾乎都跑上十公里，可以說除了寫作，跑步已經是他最在行的事。

村上在這本書《關於跑步，我說的其實是……》中藉著記錄整理自己的經驗與思緒，分享他在跑步中所理解的人生以及寫作觀。至於書名是什麼意思？其實這本書的日文原名就是以外來語思維所寫的（What I Talk About When I Talk About Running），這個名稱明顯是向他喜愛的美國小說家瑞蒙．卡佛名作之一《當我們討論愛情》（What We Talk About When We Talk About Love）致敬。

村上說如果他可以選擇自己的墓誌銘，猜猜看他想寫上什麼？答案就在書裡。

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a slew of critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revealing, both for fans of this masterful yet private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.