Tag: haruki murakami

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Things are not what they seem, Aomame repeated mentally. “What do you mean by that?” she asked with knitted brows. pg 28, ebook

Yes, what do you mean by that, I found myself asking over and over throughout 1Q84, my first foray into Haruki Murakami’s fictional works.

A few years ago, I read and enjoyed Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a non-fiction book about the author’s creative process and long distance running habit. The way his mind works is fascinating.

He talks about how writing a novel is like participating in a marathon. It takes effort and discipline to go from page one to the end. In addition, the break throughs that he makes in his writing he attributes, in part, to the flow state he experiences during his physical exertions.

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This creates a detail-filled and highly introspective world in his novels that some readers can’t get enough of.

But that approach didn’t appeal to me in this book.

The story develops slowly, so so slowly. We are in the characters’ minds for nearly every thought. We learn their eating and drinking habits, sleeping problems, past history, sexual preferences ad infinitum.

The magical realism portions of the story, my favorite parts by the way, were fleeting and infuriatingly uninformative. This is another draw, or so I have gathered, for some readers who like having major unanswered plot points by the end of the story.

This could lead to some interesting book club meetings, but I’m not one of those readers. If you’re going to tell a story, for heaven’s sake, tell the story.

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On one hand, the introspective nature of the storytelling gives deep insight into the characters. By the time you’re through, you feel like you could write what Tengo and Aomame are going to do next. It is introversion to the extreme. On the other hand, it crushed my interest in caring what was going to happen next.

Why? Personal preference, I suppose.

Legions of readers love this book. I’m curious as to why, but it might be as simple as how readers like to experience and absorb stories.

Final note: Trigger warnings for domestic violence and sexual abuse.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator)

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator)
whatitalkabout

In What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami doesn’t try to convince others that we should all become long distance runners/triathletes like him. He does talk about why he took up running, how it has helped him with his creativity and why he will continue to run as long as he feels the need to do so.

I’ve never read a book by Murakami, other than this one. But, the interesting way in which he views the world makes me think that I’d probably enjoy his stuff.

I listened to this, rather short, audiobook on my daily commute. Murakami shares a lot of intimate details about his life that fans of his writing may really enjoy.

Before he took up running, Murakami said he was overweight and smoked around 60 cigarettes a day. 60 per day!

He wasn’t just looking for a way to become fit. He wanted a exercise where he was left alone with his thoughts and challenged to focus for long periods of time.

Murakami says that, when he writes a novel, it is a matter of focus and endurance. He finds it difficult to “drill down through the rock of the mind to hit veins of creativity.” (Quoting from memory, please forgive the inaccuracies.)

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The focus that runners use to finish a long race is similar, he believes, to the focus needed to write page after page until the end of a novel. I think that type of mental ability is something that could be used in any creative endeavor, not just writing. For Murakami, writing is how he makes his art.

I liked that, even though Murakami loves running and extols its virtues, he says that he never tells other people that they should take it up. He thinks that our life paths reveal themselves to us in a unique way that only we know.

He runs because he loves it. If you love it too, run. If you don’t, do what you love- walk, skip, jump, swim, whatever.

I can get behind that philosophy. Do what makes you happy because that happiness is a clue to what you were born to do.

Recommended for writers, runners, Murakami’s fans and anyone who enjoys memoirs. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running made me wish that I loved running more. Because I don’t.

Thanks for reading!