Toru Okada's cat has disappeared and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell. (20021018)

Jay Rubin 教授從1993年開始研究日本當紅作家村上春樹，並且親自訪問過村上、也翻譯過美國版的《挪威的森林》、《神的孩子都在跳舞》，也是一個公開承認自己對村上春樹的作品著迷至極的fan，他不僅將村上作品翻譯成英文，也對作品中隱藏的村上極有興趣。這次他融會貫通村上春樹出版過的所有作品，從這裡抽絲剝繭寫出「村上春樹傳」。村上極少在媒體曝光，但是在小說中卻時時流露真我，Jay便是藉著這些線索，找到村上的文章為什麼會有特殊風格，如何有別於當代作家、音樂與他作品的關係、阪神地震及東京沙林毒氣事件對他的衝擊。謎樣的村上卻有著撼動人心的文字力量，這種如音樂一般的力量是哪來的呢？Jay Rubin有他獨家的答案。