First Published : Oct 2007

Genre : Non Fiction, Memoir

My Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️


Introduction 

Surprisingly, I found this book by Murakami in my local library. (To be honest I wasn’t expecting any Murakami book there) When I picked this one, I had just finished another non-fiction book so I was a bit worried. Never knew a day would come when I would end up reading back to back non-fiction (or rather the library made me pick them up because of its lack of choices) and enjoying them too.

Synopsis 

This book is a short memoir where Haruki Murakami talks about his passion for running and his experiences associated with it.

My Thoughts

This being just 179 pages is a huge plus, any longer and it would lose focus and run into (pun intended) the realm of repetitiveness.

It was easy to read just like any Murakami novel. It’s a simple premise and talks about his life as a long distance runner, how his running has changed as time progressed. He talks about how running has had so much impact in his life and creates memorable moments out of random events in his life. He also writes about how he finds parallels between his writing and running.

The book gives a sneak peak into Murakami’s life as a writer and a runner. He mentions he is the ‘type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone, who prefers reading books alone, concentrating on listening to music than being with someone else’. Now that’s a similarity I didn’t know I had with one of my favorite authors.

I also did not know of his journey to becoming a writer. His earlier life was unknown to me and honestly I have never looked it up. So I don’t know if that is something new or unique in this book for others but it was for me.

There are also some life lessons along the way on how life changes as we grow old and accepting that change.

Memorable Quotes

Pain is inevitable Suffering is optional

As you get older, though, through trial and error you learn to get what you need, and throw out what should be discarded. And you start to recognise (or be resigned to the fact) that since your faults and deficiencies are well nigh infinite, you’d best figure out your good points and learn to get by with what you have.

One by one, I’ll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the same time taking a long-range view, scanning the scenery as far ahead as I can. I am, after all, a long-distance runner.

In Conclusion 

The pages went by fast. I was skeptical whether I would like it or not, but found it rather interesting. I myself am not a runner but it felt informative on how running and writing has shaped his life.

An extremely easy read. It’s not a typical Murakami book. As long as you do not start with that expectation you will not find disappointment.