by Vibha Sharma
[box]’What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ by Haruki Murkamai is a wonderful reflective memoir which gives a feeling of a wide colourful spread on the platter – ranging from reflective and philosophical to vivacious and spirited, says Vibha Sharma in her review of the book.[/box]Title : What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Author : Haruki Murukami
Publisher: Vintage
‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ is a glimpse into Murukami’s tryst with writing and running and how these two vocations converged in 1982 when he was thirty-three years old. To bring semblance and routine in his life, Murukami decided to call it quits at his own night bar where he had to spend long night hours. He resolved to devote all his energies to writing to give it a fair chance. Running began as a means to stay fit and it suited his temperament completely. A year later he was running solo on the original Marathon course (Marathon to Athens) in Greece – but from Athens to Marathon. Eventually, running became much more than fitness for him, influencing many other facets of his life: “Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day.”
That was just the beginning and many such races ensued (more than 25 marathons and one ultramarathon of 60 odd miles) and it is indeed laudable that in each one of them he always stuck to his guns to cover every single step by running and not by walking. Murukami shares his introspections on writing and running and the influence that one had on another through the book. There is a lot to take away from this book: runners can identify with many technical details that the ‘running novelist’ shares – subtle instructions on how to harness the body muscles for long distance runs, sincerely following a regimen, preparing a schedule, personal goals and much more. For non-runners, this passionately written piece exquisitely brings home the importance of sheer determination and perseverance in taking an individual to accomplish what he sets out for – the need of the hour is to be ready to put in whatever it takes to get it done. There are times when a goal far away should stay in sight to bring the much-needed impetus to the feet while at other times what must get precedence over everything else is simply putting one foot ahead of another.
The book is abound with many interesting details on the art of running which could be of interest to seasoned as well as amateurs runners. Murukami, who has penned more than 15 novels, is adept in the art of writing and that is evident from the way he lets the readers peek into his treasure of wisdom, which is filled with numerous milestones and life experiences. The overall result is a wonderful reflective memoir which gives a feeling of a wide colourful spread on the platter – ranging from reflective and philosophical to vivacious and spirited.
Murukami has an impressive way of expressing himself and some of his analogies are really worth mentioning: sample “The thoughts that occur to me while I am running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. The sky both exists and doesn’t exist. It has substance and at the same time doesn’t. And we merely accept that vast expanse and drink it. ”
Vibha Sharma regularly reviews books in her blog http://literarysojourn.blogspot.com/
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