Review by rebeccafell_ - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

rebeccafell_ 's review for:

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

2.75

reflective medium-paced

“The thoughts that occur to me while I'm running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they 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 in.” (p.17)

I think the best word to describe my experience reading this would be underwhelming. Murakami has long been one of my favourite writers, so when I found out that we shared a passion for running and he wrote a memoir of sorts following his running journey, I was excited to read all about it. Instead, I felt like I was confronted with an incredibly toxic and dated attitude towards running and runners (I’m 99% certain that Murakami would consider me a non-runner because I don’t run 5:00/km and breathe heavier). He also really loves to objectify female runners; it turns out that his portrayal of women wasn’t a genius move getting into the minds of his dislikable male main characters. He is the dislikable male main character.

Whilst it was interesting reading his marathon and triathlon training/racing experience, I got an essence of what it means when people say “never meet your heroes”—I’d love to be proven wrong but, to me Murakami is just obnoxious and sexist. I tried to separate the art from the artist but unfortunately, since this is a memoir, my negative thoughts and feelings towards Murakami really affected my reading experience.

Content Warnings