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Haruki Murakami

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: Haruki Murakami Paperback – 2 April 2009

by Haruki Murakami (Author), Philip Gabriel (Translator)

4.4 7,354 ratings

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'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional'

A compelling mediation on the power of running and a fascinating insight into the life of this internationally bestselling writer. A perfect reading companion for runners.

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing.

Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston.

By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, this is a must-read for fans of this masterful yet private writer as well as for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

*Murakami's new book Novelist as a Vocation is available now*

'There can never have been a book quite like this memoir of running and writing before. In its self-contained way, it's nothing less than an inspiration' Evening Standard

'Hugely enjoyable...You don't have to have run a marathon to be captivated' Sunday Telegraph

'Comical, charming and philosophical...an excellent memoir' GQ

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage
Publication date

2 April 2009
Dimensions

19.7 x 12.9 x 1.18 cm
ISBN-10

9780099526155
ISBN-13

978-0099526155
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	What I Talk About When I Talk About Running	Novelist as a Vocation
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Review

"There's a wandering, digressive, free-form quality to the writing - like improvised jazz - familiar to anyone who has read the novels, with their labyrinth plots, perplexed, solitary male protagonists, meaningful coincidences and dream-like sequences. The narrative voice here is as persuasive as in any of the novels, candid and jaunty, and you finish the book charmed by the simple, unaffected grace of Murakami"--The Observer

"Comical, charming and philosophical... an excellent memoir"--GQ

"[Murakami] says no-one can warm to a character like his, but when he talks like this, on the run, we keep pace and pay rapt attention"--The Times

"Murakami manages to set a course that takes in views of all literature, sport and the uphill journey of ageing, all with a modest fluency that covers the ground without raising a sweat"--The Independent

Book Description

`the book has a Zen-like quality, and it's terrific'

From the Inside Flap

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston. Funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a must read for fans of this masterful yet private writer as well as for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

From the Back Cover

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing.

Equal parts travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston.

By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, this is a must-read for fans of this masterful yet private writer as well as for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

About the Author

In 1978, Haruki Murakami was twenty-nine and running a jazz bar in downtown Tokyo. One April day, the impulse to write a novel came to him suddenly while watching a baseball game. That first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won a new writers' award and was published the following year. More followed, including A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but it was Norwegian Wood, published in 1987, that turned Murakami from a writer into a phenomenon.

In works such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 1Q84, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Men Without Women, Murakami's distinctive blend of the mysterious and the everyday, of melancholy and humour, continues to enchant readers, ensuring his place as one of the world's most acclaimed and well-loved writers.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0099526158
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (2 April 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780099526155
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099526155
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.7 x 12.9 x 1.18 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 6,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 12 in Athletics
- 17 in Running & Jogging (Books)
- 34 in Biographies on Novelist & Playwrights

Customer reviews:
4.4 7,354 ratings

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Haruki Murakami

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Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Jerusalem Prize, whose previous recipients include J. M. Coetzee, Milan Kundera, and V. S. Naipaul.

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Client d'Amazon

a short, unspectacular but quietly delightful little read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 6 July 2023

Verified Purchase

This is the sort of book I'd like to see more of. A big writer writing something low stakes and concise.

Murakami lets us into his life, detailing his long obsession with running and relating it to his writing. It's a series of vignettes separated by years outlining his preparations for various raced around the world, slotting in his writing and other commitments around his need to run.

It's not too technical, more interested in the mindset and philosophy of running as a pastime. I finished it in over a day or so and would love to see more writers take a similar tack with their passions.

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Easily Me

A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 16 February 2013

Verified Purchase

Yes, if you've ever read a Murakami story. Yes, if you ever lace up a pair of trainers and run to your own personal rhythm. Yes, if you're interested in the art of the novel. Yes, if you're none of those. You'll find a friend in these pages.

As you would expect from a writer of his pedigree, a book about the activity he has pursued since 1982, running, is about much more that the non-runner/running-averse can get their teeth into. As the writer himself says in Chapter One: "running is both exercise and a metaphor." (p10) This philosophy is made apparent in the approach he has taken to writing and presenting this book, and he subsequently reveals much of his inner-self as reflected upon the choices he has made and those activities he has chosen to pursue.

This is not a brash book revealing a brash personality boosted by the buzz of running. No, it's a book about an individual constantly reinventing and fighting to find elements of a self that he is content to call his own. I think this is something we can all relate to, whatever lifestyle choices we make or have made.

Of course, as a runner, a reader of Haruki and a bit of a word-doodler, you could say that this is a book tailored to me. Again, I think the book's reach is far broader than that: as a reader, I enjoy opening my mind to experiences that lie beyond my own world, as you can only really be enlightened by that which you don't already know or have realised.

That's not to say that this book, as I have already mentioned, doesn't have any value for those to whom it appears to be made, such as me: far from it. Through reading the reflections of someone as perceptive as Murakami on issues we - well 'I', for sure - have all wrestled with or experienced, you are able to smile at a metaphorical moment shared and/or be comforted by a familiar problem or obstacle surmounted.

Yes, I guess, for me, the time with this book was like time spent with a good friend: we talked, we laughed, we consoled, we supported, and then we went home. It was all-too-brief and we haven't changed the world, but the time we spent together was special and a great comfort to us both.

And for those of you whose world of experience falls beyond that of Haruki, running and writing, you are, therefore, in a position to be enlightened, in some small way, about an aspect of each, which takes me back to what I enjoy about a book and, consequently, makes me think that you'd enjoy it, too.

Which is a long-winded way of reiterating that I think there is something in this short book for everyone that, whilst not maybe world-changing, is life-affirming and entertaining, and isn't that really enough to expect?

13 people found this helpful

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Geoff Dyer

classic Murakami

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 October 2022

Verified Purchase

Maybe not his best (I prefer the novels), but still illuminating. Will get you out pounding those streets and thinking.

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What I talk about when I talk about running.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 August 2009

Verified Purchase

`What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' is a part running and part writing memoir from Haruki Murakami and although relatively short it kept me engrossed the whole way through. This follows Murakami as he talks about how he started running and how he trains for various events. It also looks at how his running has affected his writing and how one often helps the other. It is made up of many short essays that follow on from one another and flow well chronologically and sit well together as a complete book. It is written in a deceptively simple way and although this has many short sentences, each one is expertly crafted and is describes what he is writing about perfectly. He also talks about his triathlon training which breaks up the book slightly and adds to the overall dynamic of the book. His tenacity whilst running ultra marathons is impressive and his resolves in maintaining his training schedule, come what may, should be an inspiration for those of us (I.e. all of us) runners who struggle to get out of the door sometimes. The part where he runs the Athens to Marathon route was especially good but to be honest this is packed full of many such stories to keep you reading and interested. I'd suggest you will enjoy this more if you run regularly, but that is in no way a prerequisite and you can enjoy this just as much if you are a couch potato. Well worth checking out.

Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

8 people found this helpful

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