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What I Talk About When I Talk about Running

by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel
What I Talk About When I Talk about Running

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780307389831
ISBN10: 0307389839
Condition: Standard


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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

From the bestselling author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle comes an intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect.

Equal parts travelogue and literary reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers Haruki Murakami’s intertwined obsession with running and writing and his preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon. 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, Murakami creates a vivid tapestry of memories and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory.

Review

"Practical philosophy from a man whose insight into his own character, and how running both suits and shapes that character, is revelatory and can provide tools for readers to examine and improve their own lives." Library Journal

Review

“A fascinating portrait of Murakami’s working mind and how he works his magic on the page.” The Plain Dealer

Review

"[Murakami] has turned something seemingly mundane – his running journals – into a brilliant meditation on how his running and writing nurture and sustain each other...With spare, engaging prose...Murakami shares his runner's high." Sports Illustrated

Review

"A genuine memoir, filled with gentle minutiae that truly communicates the rhythm of Murakami's daily life and work...Murakami actually offers himself whole." Paste Magazine

Review

"A felicitous, casual series of reflections and anecdotes...[Murakami] has a Warholian way of tinting the mundane with mystery and restrained humor...Do still waters run deep? This paean to a runner's life keeps us, pleasurably, wondering." The Tennessean

Review

"Beautifully written and full of great running aphorisms...Anyone who knows perseverance can appreciate this work." San Antonio Express-News

About the Author

Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into thirty-four languages, and the most recent of his many honors is the Yomiuri Literary Prize, whose previous recipients include Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, and Kobo Abe.

5 3

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Average customer rating 5 (3 comments)

`
BrianJonesDOTcom , March 15, 2014 (view all comments by BrianJonesDOTcom)
I have this theory that goes like this: sometimes we find books, and sometimes books find us. Oftentimes I'll pick up a book, read a few lines, and quickly close the covers. I'll instinctively know that no matter how much I want to read it that that book's message was meant for a later time. And sure enough, years later, I'll spot the book on the corner of my shelf and be moved to pick it up, only to find exactly what I needed to hear. It's funny how life, and reading, works that way. Other times I'll find a book in the most random way - through a footnote or a random citation in an obscure periodical, for instance - and that book's message will be exactly what I needed to hear at that moment in my life. That was certainly the case with Japanese novelist Karuki Murakami's wonderful little book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. While training for the New York City Marathon Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami decided to write about it as well. What materialized was a unique memoir that discusses his twin passions of writing and running, and the interesting way they nurture and inform each other. I've been struggling as of late staying focused on the hard work of writing, so when I opened the book and read the following lines I knew that a message that I needed to hear had found me: "One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also a runner, had taught him which he's pondered ever since he began running. Here it is: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you're running and you start to think, Man this hurts, I can't take it anymore. The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand any more is up to the runner himself. This pretty much sums up the most important aspect of marathon running." If you feel called to creative work, and are struggling with finding the discipline necessary to create a body of work, you'll find this playful, oftentimes philosophical memoir food for your soul.

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`
marathongirl , December 01, 2012 (view all comments by marathongirl)
I'm a runner and as I read this memoir I recognized bits of myself in Mr. Murakami. Like him, no one has asked me or ordered me to ever run, but, yet, I do. And, as he mentions, maybe it's a rather pointless act (nothing tangible is created) but the effort, the pain, the attainment of goals becomes the point. I run because it gives me more pleasure, more sanity then pain. And therein is a very compelling point.

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`
alyssa reed , January 02, 2011
Reading this book rejuvenated my faith in writing and helped me start running. Murakami's simple, charming prose makes enchanting creative nonfiction.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780307389831
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
08/11/2009
Publisher:
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Series info:
Vintage International
Pages:
179
Height:
.56IN
Width:
5.20IN
Thickness:
.75
Series:
Vintage International
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
2009
UPC Code:
2800307389833
Author:
Haruki Murakami
Translator:
Philip Gabriel
Media Run Time:
B
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Murakami, Haruki
Subject:
Biography - General
Subject:
Marathon running

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$10.95
List Price:$16.00
Used Trade Paperback
Ships in 1 to 3 days
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1Burnside
2Cedar Hills

More copies of this ISBN

  • New, Trade Paperback, $16.00

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  • Used, Hardcover, $12.50
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