Name: Owen Kasparian's review of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Item: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Rating: 3.5
Author: Owen Kasparian

Haruki Murakami

‘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. 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. '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

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

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, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and—even more important—on his writing.

Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of sport emerges a panorama of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back.

By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in running.

a memoir

aywen

My own individual, stubborn, uncooperative, often self-centered nature that still doubts itself—that, when troubles occur, tries to find something funny, or something nearly funny, about the situation. I’ve carried this character around like an old suitcase, down a long, dusty path. I’m not carrying it because I like it. The contents are too heavy, and it looks crummy, fraying in spots. I’ve carried it with me because there was nothing else I was supposed to carry. Still, I guess I have grown attached to it.

Ever since time began (when was that, I wonder?), it’s been moving ever forward without a moment’s rest. And one of the privileges given to those who’ve avoided dying young is the blessed right to grow old. The honor of physical decline is waiting, and you have to get used to that reality.

Cassandra Tang

Everywhere you turn there’s darkness, and a blind spot. Everywhere you find silent hints, everywhere a surprise is waiting for you. 

The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school. 

Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that’s unfair, I think it’s possible to seek out a kind of fairness. 

The thoughts that occur to me while I’m running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. They he sky both exists and doesn’t exist. It has substance and at the same time doesn’t. And we merely accept the vast expanse and drink it in. 

When I’m running I don’t have to talk to anybody and don’t have to listen to anybody. All I need is to gaze at the scenery passing by. This is a part of my day I can’t do without. 

No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act.

Rutik 

When I tell people I run every day, some are quite impressed. “You really must have a strong will,” they sometimes tell me. Of course, it’s nice to be praised like this. A lot better than being disparaged, that’s for sure. But I don’t think it’s merely willpower that makes you able to do something. The world isn’t that simple. To tell the truth, I don’t even think there’s that much correlation between my running every day and whether or not I have a strong will. I think I’ve been able to run for more than twenty years for a simple reason: It suits me. Or at least because I don’t find it all that painful. Human beings naturally continue doing things they like, and they don’t continue what they don’t like. Admittedly, something close to will does play a small part in that. But no matter how strong a will a person has, no matter how much he may hate to lose, if it’s an activity he doesn’t really care for, he won’t keep it up for long. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be good for him. That’s why I’ve never recommended running to others. I’ve tried my best never to say something like, Running is great. Everybody should try it. If some people have an interest in long-distance running, just leave them be, and they’ll start running on their own. If they’re not interested in it, no amount of persuasion will make any difference.

Running has a lot of advantages. First of all, you don't need anybody else to do it, and no need for special equipment. You don't have to go to a special place to do it. As long as you have running shoes and a good road, you can run to your heart's content.

I knew that if I did things half heartedly and then didn't work out, I would always have regrets.

When I am running, I don't have to talk to anybody, and don't have to listen to anybody. All I need to do is to gaze at the scenery passing by.

In long distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.

Most ordinary runners are motivated by an individual goal, more than anything: namely, a time they want to beat. As long as one can beat that time, a runner will feel he's accomplished what he set out to do, and if he can't, the he will feel he hasn't. Even if he doesn't break the time he had hoped for, as long as he has the sense of satisfaction at having done his very best and possibly having made some significant discovery about himself in the process, then that in itself is an accomplishment, a positive feeling he can carry over to the next race.

To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is important thing for long term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow 

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.

A Memoir

I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void. But as you might expect, an occasional thought will slip into this void. People's minds can't be a complete blank. Human beings' emotions are not strong or consistent enough to sustain a vacuum. What I mean is, the kinds of thoughts and ideas that invade my emotions as I run remain subordinate to that void. Lacking content, they are just random thoughts that gather around that central void.

nahomi

“As I was running I was struck by a thought: Even if my time in races doesn’t improve, there’s not much I can do about it. I’ve gotten older, and time has taken its toll. It’s nobody’s fault. Those are the rules of the game. Just as a river flows to the sea, growing older and slowing down are just part of the natural scenery, and I’ve got to accept it”

“I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.”

greta

"hey, I'm going to give running a try," and then discover they enjoy it. And of course that would be a beautiful thing.

As the author of this book I'd be very pleased if that happened

Sven Schmidt

Nguyen Dang

Very insightful book. But I guess I was   hoping that there would be deeper parallels between running and novel writing, this was probably not the point really. Nevertheless it was very interesting, and helps get a grasp of Murakami’s psychology. It also helps understand what running as a lifelong discipline really means. This, as an amateur runner, was particularly interesting. One other things is that I regret not reading more of his books before this one, which is what I will do now, and maybe revisit this book with a new perspective. 

Owen Kasparian

"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 range 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."

What I talk about when I talk about running

Murakami is so full of it and also a climate denier(?). He depicts himself as the most boring normal person while have a superhuman level of willpower and self reflection. It’s very Murakami. Average Murakami: “I became a writer when I decided to write a book just because I felt like it” … “other writers have an unlimited supply of creativity but not me I have to work incredibly hard at it” 

Finn James

first murakamis book ive read thats not overtly horny:) as a novice endurance runner this gives me a lot of perspectives to hear from someone whos been doing it his entire life. the struggles, disappointments, and the joy of running captured so well in these proses, to quote my favourite piece:

'most runners run because they want to live life to the fullest. If you are going to while away the years, its far better to live them with clear goals than in a fog, and i believe running helps you do that'

mimi nguyen

first murakamis book ive read thats not overtly horny:) as a novice endurance runner this gives me a lot of perspectives to hear from someone whos been doing it his entire life. the struggles, disappointments, and the joy of running captured so well in these proses, to quote my favourite piece:

'most runners run because they want to live life to the fullest. If you are going to while away the years, its far better to live them with clear goals than in a fog, and i believe running helps you do that'

Cosy and well paced like long distance running. Beautifully written.

As someone who has only run once in their life… this book was very interesting. Some parts felt a little repetitive but I loved the chapters about Greece, very engrossing!! Nice short read.

gracie

I’m no runner. At least not a long-distance runner. But this was more than about just running. 

Pratik M

I knew the book was going to be a memoir kind of thing. It was really interesting to see a different side of a person for something he is not known for. I loved some of the chapters about running marathons. I did my first 10k this year and the way he wrote about running marathons was so well that it felt like I was literally there watching it happening. This was my first murakami book and i want to read more now.

Such a wonderful book, makes me want to try and do a triathlon ☺️

Patrick Arminio

Interesting insights into Murikami through his ritual of running. Even as a runner I didn’t find him the most relatable and don’t feel like the book left me with much wisdom or takeaways. It’s more of a diary about his rather anticlimactic experience with running over the course of a few years. Beautifully written. 

Jacob Hopkins

An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author Haruki Murakami. --publisher.

What I Talk about when I Talk about Running

always interesting to get a glimpse inside murakami's head

amelo

Not incredible, but the traditional truisms about a healthy creative life and the audio book is good company. Listened to a lot of it while actually running

Farah Aisha Shabrina

BESTTTT BOOK of the (1/3) year, but i’m sure it’ll still be the best book i’ve read until the end of this year, or ever. not just about running tips and stuff, the memoir also shares contemplation on mundane things that we do, according to Murakami, can be meditative acts if we keep them long enough. as a person who keeps failing to stick to routine(😭) i was encouraged by the book. i sense a delicate nudge in me, a slight-but-profound revelation. i love how the book is not trying to lecture us readers about being a healthier, more productive human being, but to be more aware of how we see ourselves & how we want to live our lives💯👍 bonus point: it contains many life lessons (from the life of Murakami himself) that we can learn from

p.s i’m the living proof of a 10K finisher after (although not straight after) reading the book😭✋ am not bragging but it is what it is. it is all because of Mr. Murakami🏃‍♀️🤍

Cece Page

A collection of meditations written from various races, training runs, and just runs for the fun of it. This will only be appealing to you if you’re a runner and even more so, if you have a creative career in any way. I personally loved a lot of Murakami’s philosophies on running, progressing, creating, and starting again, etc. I have many similar trains of thought while I run and/or create. Good book and quick easy read :)

jess

Memoir + Murakami = utter happiness. Whatever respect I had for Haruki Murakami as a writer - which is (beyond) considerable - it is as nothing to the depth of my bow down before the Japanese novelist on discovering that he has run an ultramarathon. His description of the physical and mental agonies as he struggled to complete the 62-mile course, followed by the near-religious experience of the last few miles, when he knew he was going to finish, is one of the highlights of what he calls "a kind of memoir". Non-running readers of his novels will probably ask: "Why on earth did he run 62 miles when he knew it would hurt so much?" Runners ask a different question: "Why have I never done that?" This book is in some ways the story of the workings of Murakami's mind, dressed up as a book about running. Maybe he doesn't want to do a more standard autobiography. He should. He is a fine writer, and an interesting man. As I closed this slim volume, I was left wanting to know more about him, not less, also let my adoration for him to go beyond limits!. Then I went for a run and tried to imagine what the last half-hour of a 62-mile run would be like. He knows, and I'm jealous.

Haritlak Thawikasikam

The only Murakami's book that i can't engage. Anyway, Murakami obsession still work for me.

In a best-selling memoir, the award-winning Japanese writer recalls his preparation for the 2005 New York City marathon, interweaving his reflections on the meaning of running in his life, his thoughts on the writing process and career, and his greatest triumphs and disappointments. Reprint.

Laura Mauler

I was disappointed in this book. The writing felt so amateurish and unpolished, like a collection of stream of conscious notes that were in the process of being turned into a first draft. He repeated points over and over within paragraphs as well as throughout the book, over-explaining and in the process killing the vitality of the ideas. Also, there was the big problem that the book didn't make any point - it felt like listening to a very detailed and long-winded description of a mildly interesting person's day.

Bilge Ince

If you’re looking for an inspiration to run, this is not the book you’re looking for. At least it’s not to me, more like a diary with random thoughts and memories of running and nothing more.

Loaned by Mariana, post Frauenlauf, perhaps in an attempt to inspire me to train for a half marathon (still unsure if I have the drive/focus for this).

Great Sunday afternoon read. I particularly liked how Murakami explains the physical and emotional feeling of running long distances, and how that changes over time. It's part memoir, which also makes it enjoyable to follow.

My favourite quote - "Sometimes I run fast when I feel like it, but if I increase the pace I shorten the amount of time i run, the point being to let the exhilaration I feel at the end of each run carry over to the next day. This is the same sort of tack I find necessary when writing a novel. I stop every day right at the point where I feel I can write more. Do that, and the next day's work goes surprisingly smoothly". 

g.m.

Loaned by Mariana, post Frauenlauf, perhaps in an attempt to inspire me to train for a half marathon (still unsure if I have the drive/focus for this).

Great Sunday afternoon read. I particularly liked how Murakami explains the physical and emotional feeling of running long distances, and how that changes over time. It's part memoir, which also makes it enjoyable to follow.

My favourite quote - "Sometimes I run fast when I feel like it, but if I increase the pace I shorten the amount of time i run, the point being to let the exhilaration I feel at the end of each run carry over to the next day. This is the same sort of tack I find necessary when writing a novel. I stop every day right at the point where I feel I can write more. Do that, and the next day's work goes surprisingly smoothly". 



Fell even more in love with this excessively selfcritical sweetheart.

Klára Kováčiková 

it's like murakami is writing me a love letter at this point 

Lauri

Thomas DeCelle

tanima

this is one of the only memoirs that i enjoyed. i would 10/10 recommend. 

Murakami’s running based memoir is an instruction manual for using different disciplines to buoy one’s primary creative practice. Detailing the prolific author’s start at running (running a marathon at 33), and also writing, it goes on to tell how he built the general discipline into his life as a form of routine. In his efforts to run a marathon a year from that point and the related anecdotes of some of these races, I felt some inspiration and also resonated with my own relationship to physical endurance and creative output. 

Some of the books' stronger narrative and literary point’s muse on the greater more universal challenges that confront creatives and athletes alike. Some of the author’s treatise on what one could call the ouroboros effect of loneliness were striking: 

“ Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person’s heart and dissolve it.” 

Loneliness can beget more loneliness, by making one un-empathetic. You can see this double edged sword of obsessive discipline in professional athletes like Ronaldo or Micheal Jordan, i.e. the “I took that personally” in 

The author goes on further to illustrate a constant of more sensitive loners everywhere, describing how self imposed isolation in order deal with or overcome rejection— sometimes necessary for a creative or physical discipline— also feels like self sabotage; 

“It protects me, but at the same time it steadily cuts away at me from the inside. I think in my own way I’m aware of this danger—probably through experience—and that’s why I've had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself beyond the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and put it into perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction. 

 The loneliness of long distance runners isn’t anything new, as seen in Tony Richardson’s British realism film from 1959, of the same name. But Murakami doesn’t get hung up on this. Other more poignant passages illustrate the camaraderie of the sporting life. One too short but entertaining anecdote details the author’s running interview with John Irving in central park in the 80’s. And passing references to the early deaths of fellow competitors, individuals with whom the author felt an unspoken kinship, and the deep sorrow at the wastefulness of cruel early death bring back the main point that most good writing about sports, (or anything for that matter) is really writing about life. 

Murakami shows this last point well in many passages, linking the endurance needed to write to the endurance needed to run. He almost describes it as a relationship of maintenance from one to the other. And how the rigor of life, and satisfaction in these disciplines, is pushing yourself farther than you have before, trying to prove the inner critic wrong; “ 

If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and i believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: thats the essence of running and a metaphor for life– and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.”

Quentin Gibeau

Murakami’s running based memoir is an instruction manual for using different disciplines to buoy one’s primary creative practice. Detailing the prolific author’s start at running (running a marathon at 33), and also writing, it goes on to tell how he built the general discipline into his life as a form of routine. In his efforts to run a marathon a year from that point and the related anecdotes of some of these races, I felt some inspiration and also resonated with my own relationship to physical endurance and creative output. 

Some of the books' stronger narrative and literary point’s muse on the greater more universal challenges that confront creatives and athletes alike. Some of the author’s treatise on what one could call the ouroboros effect of loneliness were striking: 

“ Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person’s heart and dissolve it.” Loneliness can beget more loneliness, by making one un-empathetic. You can see this double edged sword of obsessive discipline in professional athletes like Ronaldo or Micheal Jordan, i.e. the “I took that personally” in The Last Dance.

The author goes on further to illustrate a constant of more sensitive loners everywhere, describing how self imposed isolation in order deal with or overcome rejection— sometimes necessary for a creative or physical discipline— also feels like self sabotage; “It protects me, but at the same time it steadily cuts away at me from the inside. I think in my own way I’m aware of this danger—probably through experience—and that’s why I've had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself beyond the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and put it into perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction. 

 The loneliness of long distance runners isn’t anything new, as seen in Tony Richardson’s British realism film from 1959, of the same name. But Murakami doesn’t get hung up on this. Other more poignant passages illustrate the camaraderie of the sporting life. One too short but entertaining anecdote details the author’s running interview with John Irving in central park in the 80’s. And passing references to the early deaths of fellow competitors, individuals with whom the author felt an unspoken kinship, and the deep sorrow at the wastefulness of cruel early death bring back the main point that most good writing about sports, (or anything for that matter) is really writing about life. 


Murakami shows this last point well in many passages, linking the endurance needed to write to the endurance needed to run. He almost describes it as a relationship of maintenance from one to the other. And how the rigor of life, and satisfaction in these disciplines, is pushing yourself farther than you have before, trying to prove the inner critic wrong; “ If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and i believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: thats the essence of running and a metaphor for life– and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.”

Nguyen Dang &
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

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Nguyen Dang &
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami