"知心大叔"村上春樹神回覆

Writing is like “chatting up a woman”, Japan’s superstar novelist Haruki Murakami has said: “You can get better with practice to a certain degree, but basically, you’re either born with it, or you’re not.”
寫作就如同“和姑娘搭訕，勤練會讓你有所提高，但歸根結底，要看你有沒有天賦。”日本著名小說家村上春樹如是寫到

The novelist was responding online to one of the Questions he has received from fans over the last few days, in his new guise as Japan’s most literary agony uncle. He began posting on Jan 15 on a site, Murakami-san no tokoro – or Mr Murakami’s Place – set up by his publisher, Shinchosa, which has said he will be taking questions until the end of the month.
自從村上春樹化身文藝“知心大叔”，短短几天內，就有不少粉絲上網提問，而上面正是村上對其中一個問題的回覆。本月15日，村上春樹開始在網站“村上家”上與廣大粉絲交流，回答粉絲的提問。該網站由其出版商日本新潮社設立，在1月底之前都會接受粉絲們的提問。

Cats make regular, enigmatic appearances in Murakami’s fiction and one reader was keen to know if the author of Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle might know where her lost cat had got to: “Cats just disappear sometimes. You have to love and appreciate them while they’re near you,” advised Murakami. Another wondered if the writer had any tips to stop his wife from burping; Murakami phlegmatically pointed out that “burping is far better than farting”.
在村上春樹的小說中，貓是“常客”，總是神祕莫測地出現。一位讀者就很想問問這位《挪威的森林》和《奇鳥行狀錄》的作者，自己走失的貓咪去哪兒了。對此，村上春樹這樣建議：“貓兒們時不時就玩消失。所以當它們親近你時，你要疼愛它們，欣賞它們。” 另一位粉絲則問村上是否有訣竅能讓他的妻子停止打嗝 ，村上淡定地指出“（這麼說請見諒）但我想打嗝總比放屁要好多了……”

The novelist has replied almost entirely in Japanese, with an “unofficial” English translation carried out by a fan. One reader, who was married with children and having an affair, asked if “there is some kind of rulebook for wicked women”. Murakami replied: “Cheating is what it is, but I think you should be careful about using the ‘D-word’ (divorce). It’s dangerous to actually utter it out loud.” He added: “I hope everything works out for you. You are not a terrible woman. This is rather common. But you must take great care in your actions.”
村上基本上是用日語來回復的，而一位粉絲則給出了自己的“非官方”英文翻譯。 有一位已經生兒育女的粉絲有了婚外情，她問村上，“有沒有什麼辦法可以約束壞女人”。村上回答道：“偷情是一回事，但我覺得你應當慎重使用‘D’打頭的那個詞（divorce離婚）。輕易說出它是很危險的。”他又說道：“我希望你一切順利，你並不是壞女人。婚外情很平常，不過還是慎重爲好。”

The author of novels from Kafka on the Shore to Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, which sold 1m copies in a week in Japan, Murakami is clearly enjoying his online adventure. Questions he has answered range from the literary, to the intimate, to the playful – has Murakami ever wanted to be a cat? No, it turns out, although he has wished to be the wind.
村上春樹寫過不少小說，從《海邊的卡夫卡》再到前年在日本面世一週就熱銷百萬冊的《沒有色彩的多崎作和他的巡禮之年》，無一不被粉絲熟知。現在，村上春樹顯然很享受他的網絡奇遇之旅，他回答的問題既有文學困惑，也有私人問題，還有玩笑之語，比如，“村上先生，你想過做一隻貓嗎？”答案是沒有，不過他倒是想過化成一陣風。

Another reader asked how the novelist feels about being named the frontrunner for the Nobel prize in literature. It’s “kind of a nuisance”, he said, according to the fan’s translation. “It’s not like I’ve been officially nominated or anything, it’s just unaffiliated bookmakers who are putting odds on me. It’s not a horse race!”
另有讀者問及村上“領跑”諾貝爾文學獎是一種怎樣的感受。 根據粉絲的翻譯，他的回答是：“其實挺困擾的，因爲並非官方提名，只是被民間賭博機構拿來定賠率罷了。這又不是賽馬！”

Two correspondents wrote to Murakami in English, one asking: “Do you think cats can understand how humans feel? My cat Bobo ran away when she saw me crying.” The novelist told her: “I suspect that either you or your cat is extremely sensitive. I have had many cats, but no cat has ever been so sympathetic. They were just as egoistic as they could be.”
還有兩位提問者使用了英文，一位問道：“ 你認爲貓能理解人類的感受麼？我家貓Bobo每次看到我哭就會跑開。”村上君的回答是：“我覺得要麼是你家貓太敏感，要麼就是你想多了。我養過許多貓，但它們從來都是以自我爲中心，從沒見它們表現出同情心。”

And asked if he had any places where he stayed “for a while”, Murakami replied in English: “An easy question. In the bed with someone I love. Where else?”
當被問到有沒有什麼地方是總會待上“一陣子的”，村上則用英文答道：“這個問題簡單。和愛的人一起在牀上。不然還能是哪兒呢？”