What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Book

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 slew of critically acclaimed books, 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 among young women who outpace him.Through this marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia 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 revealing, both for fans of this masterful yet private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

Haruki Murakami is one of the world’s favourite novelists and responsible for wonderful fiction like The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore, but here he chronicles his obsession for running and offers his fans a short but wonderful journey into a mind which shapes such beautiful books. His first forays into triathlon and his initial fears of the open water swim will resonate with many and his admiration of those who seem naturally designed to run is also a strong theme. A fabulous little book which should be on any runner’s to-read list.

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