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A review by tim_ohearn
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Haruki Murakami
4.0
Haruki Murakami captures the essence of the distance runner. The synthesis between the wanderings of the mind and the purposeful movement of the limbs. Whether fast or slow, former smoker or Olympian, anybody can pick up What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and appreciate the simplistic beauty of our most natural sport.
Yes, running becomes an extended metaphor. I wrote about it frequently as most semi-serious high school cross country athletes are prone to do. Losing oneself in the run while being able to wrangle in the hyperactive mind is one of life's most rewarding pleasures. The desire to transcribe and advocate the experience to others is inescapable yet futile. There's something under the surface that cannot be expressed through competitive achievement or a college admissions essay.
I'd never seek out a book like this because I'm selfish and I don't want someone else to try to redefine what running means to me. My resentment would turn into a fit of rage if it turned out that the author was a hobby jogger. However, I have to give credit where credit is due. Though I'm unfamiliar with his body of work, Murakami strikes me as a hell of a writer and this brief memoir does justice to the sport I love. He makes it sound a lot more compelling than it does in my head.
Yes, running becomes an extended metaphor. I wrote about it frequently as most semi-serious high school cross country athletes are prone to do. Losing oneself in the run while being able to wrangle in the hyperactive mind is one of life's most rewarding pleasures. The desire to transcribe and advocate the experience to others is inescapable yet futile. There's something under the surface that cannot be expressed through competitive achievement or a college admissions essay.
I'd never seek out a book like this because I'm selfish and I don't want someone else to try to redefine what running means to me. My resentment would turn into a fit of rage if it turned out that the author was a hobby jogger. However, I have to give credit where credit is due. Though I'm unfamiliar with his body of work, Murakami strikes me as a hell of a writer and this brief memoir does justice to the sport I love. He makes it sound a lot more compelling than it does in my head.