Memoir Mondays: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running — Haruki Murakami
Likely the most famous East Asian author outside of Asia, Murakami’s short memoir alchemizes athletics and writing aesthetics into an impactful portrait of his whole life with distance running as a central metaphor.
Here’s how it CATCHes readers:
Character — The writer opts for grace and simplicity when narrating his own life with great success. His straightforwardness and eye for the similarities in between aspects of daily life make the narrator read as something of a Zen master minding a garden: the garden being the harmony between mind and body that takes place both during long runs as well as the maintenance and upkeep before and after those runs. It’s magical how gently and graceful he delivers such a condensed version of his whole life story while simultaneously capturing what matters most.
Adventure — From his first marathon along the path of the very first marathon itself in Greece to marathon races in his home country, Murakami retells his growth in the sport and as a novelist within an almost diary-like retelling of his training for the New York Marathon. In a way, it’s like a general in the trenches telling his new soldiers about his war exploits in previous campaigns. The effect is the past adventures fold into the present one, heightening the stakes and the pulse of the narrative itself.
PULL QUOTE:
“Of course it was painful, and there were times when, emotionally I just wanted to chuck it all. But pains seems to be a precondition for this kind of sport. If pain weren’t involved, who in the world would ever go to the trouble of taking part in sports like the triathlon or the marathon, which demand such an investment in time and energy? It’s precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive — or at least a partial sense of it.”
Tribulation — In many ways, every marathon in Murakami’s life has been its own tribulation. None go as smoothly as he expects (injury, training lapses) and there is always room for improvement (time, enjoyment). Still, in keeping with his theme of writing novels being very similar to marathons, he delves into the various kinds of injuries (like writers block) that one experiences over the course of writing a novel. These vulnerabilities attest to the main attribute needed for novel writing, marathon running, and life living: perseverance.
Culture — Whether it's Boston’s running scene beside the river, the Greek countryside along the ancient marathon route, or the literary scenes across the world where his books are famous, Murakami selects subtle and specific details to deliver about these places that give them all more than a little life. His choices reflect the context for all the action he delivers on the trails of his races and the pages of his books.
Honesty — There is an inherent arrogance that exists inside anyone who has completed a novel or ran a marathon. These, although within the reach of any woman or man, are mental and physical feats anchored in choice and careful discipline. It would be easy to tout the glory of crossing the finish line or publishing the novel but it is Murakami’s insistence on staying honest about the toll these pursuits have left on his body, relationships, and life that bring the weight of the accomplishments into perspective. Indeed writing novels and running marathons aren’t easy, but not always in the ways you might think.
CATCH score: 9/10