The satisfying crack when the bat met the ball resounded throughout Jingu Stadium. Scattered applause rose around me. In that instant, for no reason and on no grounds whatsoever, the thought suddenly struck me: I think I can write a novel.
At Lit Hub, Murakami shares the introduction to Wind/Pinball: Two Novels, due out in August, about his twenties and the exact moment he became a novelist while at a baseball game. He shares the story of his first business—a jazz cafe—his first attempt at writing a novel, the cultivation of his style via translation, and more lovely tidbits of reminiscence.
