经济学人183:村上春树的梦中梦

 　　In a suburban 1 Japanese flat an out-of-work loser, Toru Okada (James Yaegashi), is folding laundry while he contemplates 2 the disappearance 3 of first his cat and then his wife, who hasn’t been home for days. The doorbell rings. Visions of bubbling water and mist on stage signal the start of Okada’s voyage of discovery. Various seemingly disconnected strangers come to visit, each one teaching Okada something new about himself. One leads him into the inky darkness of a well, where many of the novel’s more philosophical 4 soliloquies are set. “Sometimes the best way to think about reality is to get as far away from it as possible,” he says.

　　在日本郊区的一套公寓里，一个无业的失败者冈田亨（詹姆斯?八重樫饰）一边叠着自己的衣服一边陷入沉思。他先想到他的那只猫的消失，然后又想到他几天没有回过家的妻子。门铃响了。舞台上水泡烟雾的影像暗示着冈田亨探索旅程的开始。各种各样看上去毫无关系的陌生人前来拜访，每个人都让冈田亨了解到关于自身的一些新的认识。其中一人带领他走进了一口暗如墨色的深井中，小说中的许多更具哲学性的独白就被设定在那里。“有时候，思考现实的最佳方式就是尽可能地远离它，”他如是说。
　　Nothing is straightforward 5. As Okada, Mr Yaegashi is both fearful and open. His wife, Kumiko (Ai Kiyono), may have run off or she may have been kidnapped. Her beastly brother, performed by James Saito, epitomises Japan’s right-wing romantics, who long for the days when warfare 6, chivalry 7 and honour were prized above all else. An old soldier from Hiroshima visits Okada to tell him a terrifying story of a man who was skinned alive by enemy forces before the second world war. “Telling you my memories has given me so much relief,” he says as he bids adieu.
　　没有什么是直截了当的。关于冈田亨，八重樫先生的表演即可怕又开放。冈田亨的妻子久美子（清野爱饰）可能已经离开了他，或者她也可能被绑架。而由詹姆斯?斋藤饰演的她那野蛮的哥哥就是日本右翼空想家们的缩影，他们渴望那些将战争、骑士精神与荣耀视作高于其他一切事物的旧时光。一个来自广岛的老士兵拜访冈田亨并向他讲述了关于二战前一个人被敌军活活剥皮的可怕故事。“对你讲述我的记忆让我深感慰藉，”他在临走告别前这样说道。
　　If Mr Murakami’s book was hard to follow, Mr Earnhart’s version does little to clarify. Better to give yourself up to the theatrical 8 experience of Okada’s passage into the unknown. In a land of dreams, it is never the destination but the journey that counts most of all.
　　如果说村上春树的书非常难以捉摸，那么爱恩哈特的戏剧版本并没能做到多少阐明。不如就让自己臣服于冈田亨探索未知旅途的戏剧体验吧。在梦境的原野上，最重要的从来都不是目的地，而是过程。
　　In a suburban Japanese flat an out-of-work loser, Toru Okada (James Yaegashi), is folding laundry while he contemplates the disappearance of first his cat and then his wife, who hasn’t been home for days. The doorbell rings. Visions of bubbling water and mist on stage signal the start of Okada’s voyage of discovery. Various seemingly disconnected strangers come to visit, each one teaching Okada something new about himself. One leads him into the inky darkness of a well, where many of the novel’s more philosophical soliloquies are set. “Sometimes the best way to think about reality is to get as far away from it as possible,” he says.
　　在日本郊区的一套公寓里，一个无业的失败者冈田亨（詹姆斯?八重樫饰）一边叠着自己的衣服一边陷入沉思。他先想到他的那只猫的消失，然后又想到他几天没有回过家的妻子。门铃响了。舞台上水泡烟雾的影像暗示着冈田亨探索旅程的开始。各种各样看上去毫无关系的陌生人前来拜访，每个人都让冈田亨了解到关于自身的一些新的认识。其中一人带领他走进了一口暗如墨色的深井中，小说中的许多更具哲学性的独白就被设定在那里。“有时候，思考现实的最佳方式就是尽可能地远离它，”他如是说。
　　Nothing is straightforward. As Okada, Mr Yaegashi is both fearful and open. His wife, Kumiko (Ai Kiyono), may have run off or she may have been kidnapped. Her beastly brother, performed by James Saito, epitomises Japan’s right-wing romantics, who long for the days when warfare, chivalry and honour were prized above all else. An old soldier from Hiroshima visits Okada to tell him a terrifying story of a man who was skinned alive by enemy forces before the second world war. “Telling you my memories has given me so much relief,” he says as he bids adieu.
　　没有什么是直截了当的。关于冈田亨，八重樫先生的表演即可怕又开放。冈田亨的妻子久美子（清野爱饰）可能已经离开了他，或者她也可能被绑架。而由詹姆斯?斋藤饰演的她那野蛮的哥哥就是日本右翼空想家们的缩影，他们渴望那些将战争、骑士精神与荣耀视作高于其他一切事物的旧时光。一个来自广岛的老士兵拜访冈田亨并向他讲述了关于二战前一个人被敌军活活剥皮的可怕故事。“对你讲述我的记忆让我深感慰藉，”他在临走告别前这样说道。
　　If Mr Murakami’s book was hard to follow, Mr Earnhart’s version does little to clarify. Better to give yourself up to the theatrical experience of Okada’s passage into the unknown. In a land of dreams, it is never the destination but the journey that counts most of all.
　　如果说村上春树的书非常难以捉摸，那么爱恩哈特的戏剧版本并没能做到多少阐明。不如就让自己臣服于冈田亨探索未知旅途的戏剧体验吧。在梦境的原野上，最重要的从来都不是目的地，而是过程。