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A review by tjwallace04
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
“When I'm running I don't have to talk to anybody and don't have to listen to anybody. This is a part of my day I can't do without.”
This is the first book I have read by Haruki Murakami. I thought I had read some of his fiction in college, but after reading through his bibliography and seeing nothing familiar, I guess I didn't. Now I am very curious about his fiction, because this short memoir was so odd and flat and yet...somehow so compelling?
Murakami writes in a very dry and yet conversational way about his life as a long distance runner, a writer, and a driven, introverted person. I am a runner (although not a "serious runner" according to Murakami's standards. I only run about 3 miles a day, not 6), so I mostly enjoyed this memoir for its honest insights about running: knee pain, the anxious feeling before races, the glorious solitude, the way you are always competing against yourself, not others, to be better. All of that spoke to me deeply. I am not sure I would have liked this book so much (I probably wouldn't have even chosen it to read) if it were about a sport outside my realm of experience, like tennis or rowing. The essay about the ultra-marathon in particular was absolutely riveting to me. If I took anything away from this book, it is that I will never run an ultra-marathon. 😆
But I also really enjoyed slowly getting to know more about Murakami himself. What an interesting person! In his early thirties, he suddenly made a series of major life changes: he decided he wanted to write a novel, so he wrote one. He started running. He quit smoking. He sold his successful jazz club so he could focus exclusively on writing. Murakami seems to have such a strong sense of self, incredible focus, and a quiet sense of humor. Even though I found his reserved style odd at first, I ended up really liking his voice.
I would recommend "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" mostly to runners and to people who are already fans of Murakami. And if you're not a runner but have been curious about the sport, you might want to try this one too!
This is the first book I have read by Haruki Murakami. I thought I had read some of his fiction in college, but after reading through his bibliography and seeing nothing familiar, I guess I didn't. Now I am very curious about his fiction, because this short memoir was so odd and flat and yet...somehow so compelling?
Murakami writes in a very dry and yet conversational way about his life as a long distance runner, a writer, and a driven, introverted person. I am a runner (although not a "serious runner" according to Murakami's standards. I only run about 3 miles a day, not 6), so I mostly enjoyed this memoir for its honest insights about running: knee pain, the anxious feeling before races, the glorious solitude, the way you are always competing against yourself, not others, to be better. All of that spoke to me deeply. I am not sure I would have liked this book so much (I probably wouldn't have even chosen it to read) if it were about a sport outside my realm of experience, like tennis or rowing. The essay about the ultra-marathon in particular was absolutely riveting to me. If I took anything away from this book, it is that I will never run an ultra-marathon. 😆
But I also really enjoyed slowly getting to know more about Murakami himself. What an interesting person! In his early thirties, he suddenly made a series of major life changes: he decided he wanted to write a novel, so he wrote one. He started running. He quit smoking. He sold his successful jazz club so he could focus exclusively on writing. Murakami seems to have such a strong sense of self, incredible focus, and a quiet sense of humor. Even though I found his reserved style odd at first, I ended up really liking his voice.
I would recommend "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" mostly to runners and to people who are already fans of Murakami. And if you're not a runner but have been curious about the sport, you might want to try this one too!