What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir (Vintage International) - Softcover

Murakami, Haruki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307473392 ISBN 13: 9780307473394

Publisher: Vintage, 2009

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

`It's quirky and wise' -- Evening Standard

`wonderfully written account' -- The Daily Mail Christmas Books

'...In its self-contained way, it's nothing less than an inspiration' -- Evening Standard, Book of the Week, David Sexton

`Likeable and often rewarding'
-- The Spectator

`The closest thing to a memoir that Haruki Murakami will ever write' -- Sunday Herald, Stephan Phelan

`[Murakami] says no-one can warm to a character like his, but ... we keep pace and pay rapt attention.'
-- The Times, Iain Finlayson

`comical, charming and philosophical...excellent memoir' -- GQ

`takes in views of all literature, sport and the uphill journey of ageing, all with a modest fluency' -- The Independent, Boyd Tonkin

`there's a wandering, digressive, free-form quality to the writing - like improvised jazz...and you finish the book charmed...'
-- The Observer, Jason Cowley

the reward is an utterly unique read
-- Kudos

Book Description

`The closest thing to a memoir that Haruki Murakami will ever write'

Edition details

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307473392
• ISBN 13: 9780307473394
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 180