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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
2023: Other Books
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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami - 4 stars
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Joy I really loved this book. In fact I started running shortly after reading it. Sadly I'm no longer "allowed" to run. I had a hip injury and the orthopedists said to stop running entirely.
It is inspirational, isn't it? I used to be a runner and really enjoyed it. Now I mostly walk.
I just came across this wonderful article about Murakami and his latest book just published in Japan. Running is mentioned at the end. Right now I am so envious of his students at Wellesley!https://japantoday.com/category/natio...
Thanks for the link. The new one sounds interesting!
Thanks, Theresa! It will help me decide which of his other books to read this year.
“Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life—and for me, for writing as well.”
Murakami’s memoir about running, writing, and his outlook on life. The author took up running not long after he started writing. He eventually became a marathon runner, triathlete, and even completed an ultramarathon. This book is short and covers many parallels between what it takes to be a distance runner and a novelist. I was interested in this book due to my past efforts in marathon running, and also due to my fairly recent discovery of Murakami’s fiction. While this book is in a different category than his fiction, it is well told and insightful. I could relate to his views about solitude, focus, and competing against oneself. I would definitely recommend it to runners, as Murakami articulates what draws some people to it (and also understands it is not for everyone). While it does not reach the heights of creativity that I have experienced with his fiction, I certainly enjoyed it and recommend it.
“If pain weren't involved, who in the world would ever go to the trouble of taking part in sports like the triathlon or the marathon, which demand such an investment of time and energy? It's precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive.”