1973年的弹子球 (1980)

《1973年的弹子球》（日语：1973年のピンボール），是日本作家村上春树所做的第二部长篇小说，发表于1980年，是《鼠的三部曲》的第二部（另外两部是《且听风吟》和《寻羊冒险记》）。

简介

中国出版的译本由林少华翻译，台湾及香港出版的译本则由赖明珠翻译。最早出版时，赖明珠翻译的版本书名为《失落的弹子球机》。

该小说已经具备了典型村上春树式小说的大多数特点，包括充满超现实主义味道的故事和遥接《挪威的森林》的伤感气息。

小说由两个相对独立的故事所组成，即“我”的故事和鼠的故事，两组故事交叉叙述。

情节

1973年，伴随着对大学生活和逝去的大学女友直子的回忆，“我”已经从大学毕业，做英语翻译工作谋生，（奇怪地）与一对难以分辨的双胞胎女孩同居于高尔夫球场旁的公寓里。一天“我”偶然的想起了1970年前后大学时与鼠常一起去的酒吧里的一台“宇宙飞船”弹子球机。“我”感到那台曾经吃掉自己无数硬币的弹子球机在呼唤自己。因此，“我”做出了许多努力去寻找它，其间与两个女友一起在郊外的水库为公寓拆下来的旧电话配电盘举行了一个奇异的葬礼。终于，我找到了与其他数十台弹子球机一起收藏在一个旧养鸡场仓库的那台传奇的弹子球机。然而，“我”并没有玩弹子球机，只是漠然地离开了它。随后“我”送别了相处多日的两个女友，回到属于自己的孤独中。

同期，在1970从大学退学，自觉丧失了现实感的鼠，在故乡出入于日籍华人杰的酒吧，和海边在建筑师事务所工作的女友的公寓之间。经过长期的心理挣扎，鼠终于决定离开知交的杰和钟情的女友，收拾行装，离开这熟悉的故乡。

Pinball, 1973 (1973年のピンボール, Sen-Kyūhyaku-Nanajū-San-Nen no Pinbōru) is a novel published in 1980 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series, it is preceded by Hear the Wind Sing (1979) and followed by A Wild Sheep Chase (1982), and is the second novel written by Murakami.

All three books in the Trilogy of the Rat have been translated into English, but Pinball, 1973, and Hear The Wind Sing, the first two books in the trilogy, were only printed as English translations in Japan by Kodansha under their Kodansha English Library branding, and both only as A6-sized pocket editions. Before being reprinted in 2009, these novels were difficult to locate and quite expensive, especially outside Japan. Murakami is alleged to have said that he did not intend these novels to be published outside Japan. Whether or not this is true, both novels are much shorter than those that follow and make up the bulk of his work, and are less evolved stylistically. The title reflects that of the well-known Oe Kenzaburo novel, The Silent Cry, which in the original Japanese is titled Football, First Year of the Man'en Era [1860] (万延元年のフットボール, Man'en Gannen no Futtobōru).

An omnibus English edition of Murakami's first two novels (Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973), under the title Wind/Pinball, with translations by Prof. Ted Goossen of York University, was released in the United States in August, 2015.

Plot introduction

Despite being an early work, Pinball shares many elements with Murakami's later novels. It describes itself in the text as "a novel about pinball," but also explores themes of loneliness and companionship, purposelessness, and destiny. As with the other books in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series, three of the characters include the protagonist, a nameless first-person narrator, his friend The Rat, and J, the owner of the bar where they often spend time.

Plot summary

The plot centers on the narrator's brief but intense obsession with pinball, his life as a freelance translator, and his later efforts to reunite with the old pinball machine that he used to play. He describes living with a pair of identical unnamed female twins, who mysteriously appear in his apartment one morning, and disappear at the end of the book. Interspersed with the narrative are his memories of the Japanese student movement, and of his old girlfriend Naoko, who hanged herself. The plot alternates between describing the life of the narrator and that of his friend, Rat. Many familiar elements from Murakami's later novels are present. Wells, which are mentioned often in Murakami's novels and play a prominent role in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, occur several times in Pinball. There is also a brief discussion of the abuse of a cat, a plot element which recurs elsewhere in Murakami's fiction, especially in Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (in which the search for a missing cat is an important plotline). Rain and the sea are also prominent motifs.

Characters

In order of appearance in the story.

I / Protagonist - The narrator of the story, 24 years old. He is the co-founder of a translating company and he takes care of the twins. He is looking for a pinball machine named the three-flipper Spaceship.

Naoko - She is the deceased college girlfriend of the protagonist.

The twins - Completely identical, the protagonist awakens to both of them in his bed one morning. They do not reveal their names and live with the protagonist. It is mentioned multiple times that they make good coffee.

The Rat - The protagonist's friend from university, 25 years old. Rich university dropout, he seems to be stuck in time since the spring he quit school. He goes to J's bar daily.

The friend - The friend is the co-founder of the translating company. He translates from French. He also has a sick wife and a 3 year old son.