After The Quake

　　《神的孩子都在跳舞》主要探討一九九五年日本神戶大地震對人們產生的影響，是村上春樹第一部以「地震」為主題的連作小說。即使事件相隔已有五年之久，地表的裂痕隨時間沖刷刻蝕，或許會漸漸弭平，但災變的陰影卻慢慢在每個人身體裡發酵。

　　★本書中譯版《神的孩子都在跳舞》由時報出版。

　　The six stories in Haruki Murakami’s mesmerizing collection are set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence. But the upheavals that afflict Murakami’s characters are even deeper and more mysterious, emanating from a place where the human meets the inhuman.

　　An electronics salesman who has been abruptly deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package—and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who has been raised to view himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may or may not be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. As haunting as dreams, as potent as oracles, the stories in After the Quake are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

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.