Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

　　A young man accompanies his cousin to the hospital to check an unusual hearing complaint and recalls a story of a woman put to sleep by tiny flies crawling inside her ear; a mirror appears out of nowhere and a nightwatchman is unnerved as his reflection tries to take control of him; a couple's relationship is unbalanced after dining exclusively on exquisite crab while on holiday; a man follows instructions on the back of a postcard to apply for a job, but an unknown password stands between him and his mysterious employer. In each of these stories Murakami sidesteps the real and sprints for the surreal. Everyday events are transcended, leaving the reader dazzled by the master of his craft.

作者簡介

村上春樹

　　一九四九年生於日本京都府。早稻田大學戲劇系畢業。

　　一九七九年以《聽風的歌》獲得「群像新人賞」，新穎的文風被譽為日本「八○年代文學旗手」，一九八七年暢銷七百萬冊的代表作《挪威的森林》出版，奠定村上在日本多年不墜的名聲，除了暢銷，也屢獲「野間文藝賞」、「谷崎潤一郎文學賞」等文壇肯定，三部曲《發條鳥年代記》更受到「讀賣文學賞」的高度肯定。除了暢銷，村上獨特的都市感及寫作風格也成了世界年輕人認同的標誌。

　　作品中譯本至今已有50幾本，包括長篇小說、短篇小說、散文及採訪報導等。

　　長篇小說有《聽風的歌》、《1973年的彈珠玩具》、《尋羊冒險記》、《世界末日與冷酷異境》、《挪威的森林》、《舞舞舞》、《國境之南、太陽之西》、《發條鳥年代記》三部曲、《人造衛星情人》、《海邊的卡夫卡》、《黑夜之後》、《1Q84 Book1》《1Q84 Book2》、《1Q84 Book3》等。

　　Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His books include Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, and 1Q84. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages and he has received many honours, including the Franz Kafka Prize. His most recent novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, sold one million copies in its first week of publication in Japan.