The new novel by the great Japanese author Haruki Murakami, “Killing Commendatore” features (for a start) a mysterious bell that rings by itself; an abstract idea that steals the body of a two-foot-tall man in a painting; and an odd trip to an underworld frequented by, among other things, some scary Double Metaphors. As the author himself writes at one point, “a number of things made no sense.”

But this is Mr. Murakami, whose intensely popular fiction plays at the boundary between the real and the surreal, the mundane and the fantastical, regular life and irregular happenings. “Killing Commendatore” is hard to describe — it is so expansive and intricate — but it touches on many of the themes familiar in Mr. Murakami’s novels: the mystery of romantic love, the weight of history, the transcendence of art, the search for elusive things just outside our grasp.

Mr. Murakami’s works have been translated into 50 languages; in addition to novels, he also writes short stories and nonfiction and translates books from English into Japanese. In town for a few days last week, Mr. Murakami, who is 69, sat for a brief interview in his publisher’s office after an hour’s jog around Central Park. (He is an avid runner and avid music listener.) Sipping from a Starbuck’s cup printed with the word “Emily” — it had been picked up by an assistant — he spoke about the mysteries of the creative process, his love of ironing, and how his disciplined nature and strict adherence to a daily schedule of writing help liberate his strange imagination. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How did you get the idea for “Killing Commendatore”?

I don’t know. I picked it from the depth of my mind somewhere. All of a sudden I wanted to write the first one or two paragraphs. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I put it in a drawer on my desk, and then all I had to do was just wait.