Man: So, which feels better, finishing a draft of a book or crossing the finish line of a marathon?
Murakami: The ending of the novel is like having a baby.
A child, the moment of birth is unparalleled. A lucky writer may write 12 novels in his life. I don't know how many good works remain in my body. I hope there are four or five more. But I don't feel this restriction when I run. I publish a novel almost every four years, but I run 10 km race, half marathon and full marathon every year. Now I have run 27 marathons, the latest one is 65438+ 10. The 28th, 29th and 30th will come naturally.
M: Your book describes your running experience and discusses the importance of running to your writing. Why did you write such an autobiographical work?
Murakami: Since I first started running-that was 25 years ago, in the autumn of 1982-I have been asking myself why I want to engage in such a sport. Why don't you play football? Why did my life as a serious writer only start from the day I started running? Often only by writing down your own thoughts can you understand things. I found that when I wrote about running, I began to write about myself.
Why did you start running?
Murakami: I want to lose weight. In the first few years as a writer, I smoked a lot, almost 60 cigarettes a day, to concentrate on writing. Smoking has turned my teeth and nails yellow. At the age of 33, I decided to quit smoking, and as a result, a lot of fat appeared on my waist and buttocks. So I started running. In my opinion, running is the most feasible way to lose weight.
M: Why?
Murakami: Team sports are not to my taste. I found that everything would be much easier if I could do something at my own pace. And you don't need a partner to run, and you don't need a special venue like playing tennis. All you need is a pair of running shoes. Judo doesn't suit me either: I am not a fighter. And long-distance running has nothing to do with beating others. Your only opponent is yourself, not involving anyone else, but you will fight inside.
Am I better than last time?
Pushing yourself to the limit again and again is the essence of running. Running is painful, but this pain will never leave me. I can handle it. This is consistent with my personality.
M: What was your physical condition then? Murakami: At first, after running for 20 minutes, I was out of breath, my heart was pounding and my legs began to shake. Even if someone watches me run, I feel uncomfortable. But I regard running as a must-do thing like brushing my teeth every day, so I have made rapid progress. Less than a year later, I ran a marathon for the first time, but it was informal.
M: You ran the marathon from Athens alone. What attracted you to do this?
Murakami: It's a marathon in the original sense-the route of the first marathon in history. I ran in the opposite direction and didn't want to get to downtown Athens during the rush hour. I have never run more than 35 kilometers before; My legs and upper body are not particularly strong; I don't know what I will meet on the road. It's like running in virgin land.
M: How did you finish the competition?
Murakami: It was July and it was very, very hot. It is very hot, even in the morning. I have never been to Greece, so this summer's heat surprised me. Half an hour later, I took off my coat. Later, I dreamed of drinking a bottle of cold beer and counting the dead bodies of cats and dogs on the roadside. The sun made me furious, and its anger burned me, and small blisters began to appear on my skin. Finally, I ran for 3 hours and got a score of 5 1, which was not bad. When I reached the finish line, I washed by the tap of a gas station and drank my dream beer. The waiter at the gas station heard that I had come all the way from Athens and sent me a bunch of flowers specially.
M: What's your best result in running a marathon?
Murakami: 3 hours and 27 minutes, new york 199 1 year, recorded with his own stopwatch. It's almost equivalent to one kilometer every five minutes. I am very proud of this achievement, because the last section of this route, that is, the section through the Central Park, is really hard. Later, I tried to surpass this achievement several times, but I was getting older and older. At the same time, I am no longer so keen on my personal best. For me, being satisfied with myself is the most important thing.
M: How do you cheer yourself up and keep running outside every day?
Murakami: Sometimes it's too hot, sometimes it's too cold, sometimes it's too gloomy. But I will still go running. I know that if I don't go running one day, I probably won't go the next day. People naturally don't like to bear unnecessary burdens, so people's bodies will soon be unaccustomed to exercise loads. And this is absolutely impossible. The same is true of writing. I write every day, so that my mind will not become unaccustomed to thinking. So I can improve the benchmark of words step by step, just as running can make muscles stronger and stronger.
M: You are the only child in the family. Writing is a lonely job, and you have been running alone. Is there any potential connection between these facts?
Murakami: No doubt. I'm used to being alone, and I enjoy it. Unlike my wife, I don't like company. I have been married for 37 years, and I still often worry about it. In my last job, I used to work until the wee hours, but now I go to bed at nine or ten every day.
M: Before you became a writer and a runner, you once owned a jazz club in Tokyo. It is hard to imagine a more drastic lifestyle change.
Murakami: When I run a club, I always stand behind the bar. My job is to talk to customers. I have been doing this for seven years, but actually I am not a talkative person. I once swore that once the work here was over, I would only talk to those people I really wanted to talk to.
M: When did you begin to realize that it was time to change your life?
Murakami: 1978. In April, I watched a baseball game at the Jingu Gymnasium in Tokyo. It's sunny and I'm drinking beer. Suddenly, David of Yakult swallowed it? Dave Hilton hit a perfect ball. It was at this moment that I knew I would write a novel. That kind of warm mood, I still feel it in my heart. Now I use a new one? Closed? To make up for the past? Open? Life. I never go to TV or radio, rarely attend book clubs, and I don't want to be photographed by the media. I rarely give interviews. I am a lonely person.
M: Will running make you a better writer?
Murakami: Exactly. The stronger my muscles are, the clearer my thinking will be. I believe that artists who lead unhealthy lives will exhaust their talents faster. Jimmy. Hendricks, Jim? Morrison, Janice? Joplin was my idol when I was young ― they all died young, but they didn't deserve it. Only geniuses like Mozart and Pushkin deserve to die young. Jimi hendrix is great, but not smart enough, because he is xx. It is unhealthy to engage in artistic work, and artists should devote themselves to a healthy life to make up for it. It is dangerous for a writer to find his own story. Running helped me avoid this danger.
M: Does running inspire you to write?
Murakami: No, because I am not the kind of writer who can easily reach the source of the story. I have to dig it myself. I have to dig deep to touch the dark part of my soul, where my story is hidden. It is also for this reason that I must have a strong body. Since I started running, I have been able to stay focused for a longer time, and it takes several hours to go deep into dark areas. You can find everything along the way: images, people and metaphors. If your body is weak, you will miss them: you have no power to catch them and bring them back to the surface of consciousness. The main job of writing is not to dig the source, but to return from the darkness. This is the same as running. No matter what the cost, you must cross a finish line.
M: Your work style is magical realism, and reality and magic are intertwined. Does running also have a surreal or metaphysical side-not just pure physical labor?
Murakami: Any behavior, as long as it is done for a long time, will bring some philosophical meaning. 1995, I took part in a race of 100 km, which took 42 minutes1/hour. Eventually it became a religious experience. When I reached 55 kilometers, I was about to collapse. My legs have become unruly, and I feel as if two horses are tearing my body. About seventy-five kilometers later, I suddenly ran down normally and the pain had disappeared. I participated? The other shore? Joy wrapped me, and I crossed the finish line intoxicated. I can even keep running. However, I will never go to ultramarathon again.
M: Why?
Murakami: after this extreme experience, I entered a kind of what I call? Depression of long-distance runners? The state of.
M: What kind of state?
Murakami: A feeling of listlessness. I am tired of running. Running 100 km is a very, very boring thing. You have been running alone for more than eleven hours, and this boredom is eating me up. It took away my motivation to escape from my soul. Losing my positive attitude, I was disgusted with running for weeks on end.
M: How did you find the pleasure of running again?
Murakami: I tried to force myself to run, but it didn't work. The fun is gone. So I decided to try other sports. I am eager for new excitement, so I began to practice triathlon. It worked. After a while, my desire to run came back.
M: You are 59 years old. How long are you going to run the marathon?
Murakami: As long as I can walk, I will keep running. Do you know what I want to write on the tombstone?
Please tell us.
Murakami:? At least he finished running and didn't leave. ?
M: Thank you for accepting our interview, Mr. Murakami.