What I talk about when I talk about reading & writing — 01 — The Running Novelist

So in my last post, which was my first post after a very very long time, I spoke about how I’m inspired to get back to scribbling and get back to writing again.
And what am I going to talk about?
This is how I ended my earlier post.
“Most likely, the the first post, after this one, would very well be a log from my life on what is on my reading list and also what inspired me to start off with writing to begin with. I don’t think I’ve shared that yet or at least recently”.
So, yes, this post is about what’s on my reading list and also how that inspired me to start off with this series of ‘What I talk about when I talk about reading and writing’ in the first place.
I’m reading a memoir by Haruki Murakami called, What I talk about when I talk about running. And that’s how I’ve also taken a cue from his book and kind of make a log about what I talk about when I talk about what I’m reading or writing.
So it’s interesting because:
- I’m hugely inspired by the author considering the many beautiful and amazing books he’s written, but also how he’s a huge fitness and running buff.
- I’ve been into fitness for the whole of last year, and will also start running again, which means, I’ll have a lot more thoughts while running about what I should be reading and writing.
- Hopefully by the time I complete this series, it’ll make for a good piece of content for my own memoir of sorts about my thoughts, my journal on thoughts of what inspires me to read/write and also run.
So let me first talk about what I’m reading.
The book, What I talk about when I talk about running is a memoir by the 70 year old celebrated and well known Japanese author Haruki Murakami, born in 1949.
In this book, he writes about his interest and participation in long-distance running. The book is translated by Philip Gabriel in English.
Murakami started running in the early 1980s and since then has competed in over twenty marathons and an ultramarathon. Over time, Murakami has become a serious marathon runner and triathlon enthusiast, though he did not start running until he was 33 years old.
On 23 June 1996, he completed his first ultramarathon, a 100 km race around Lake Saroma in Hokkaido, Japan. In this book he discusses his relationship with running in his 2008 memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
Funnily, the book’s title was inspired by Raymond Carver’s collection of short stories titled, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
And inspired by this book, I’m starting this series about reading and writing. Who knows, I might make a memoir out of this too. :-)
So yeah, why did I pick up this one and what got me interested in the first place?
I’ve been a fan of Murakami and his works, like 1Q84, Kafka On The Shore and The Wind-Up Bird chronicle. Which are mostly fiction and across magical realism and fantasy fiction genres. But I like his style even in these books in terms of how close to reality and depiction of Japan he gives and of course, the lucid descriptions of culture as well as places across the country.
And, the last whole year for me has been about fitness, and this book is a personal memoir of Murakami talking about his running days and how it helped him become a better novelist and of course live longer… So this one’s a perfect read for me.
At the same time, I‘ve also in the past written a series of fiction novella called Musashi, which is still unfinished and on the back-burner, purely inspired after reading 1Q84. A story of a young determined girl from a prefecture in Japan, who moves into the cities to find a job and what her journey will be. Which is still in the making. And I’ve written that story purely from research about Japan… Which is on my bucket list of travels or for that matter a place to stay in at some point in time in my life. Hopefully I’ll come back to it and start writing that as well soon, since I’ve started reading Murakami again.
But for now, I’m going to talk about why I picked up this book of Murakami, and as I write this post, I’m half way through the book.
So what do I like about this book so far?
In a funny way, pretty much like his other fantasy fiction and magical realism books I’ve read, in this one, I truly consider Murakami the Magical Hero who’s a determined runner and a disciplined and talented author with a clear goal about what he wants in life.
Whether it’s about the time when he’s running a Jazz Club in Sendagaya Station, traveling across the world to write or to manage his business, or for that matter going to Greece while writing an article for the US Runner’s Magazine and having a determination to wake up as early as 5.30 am and run from Athens to Marathon on his own. He runs across the two points in the other direction of the official Athens Marathon. Simply to avoid traffic and of course wakes up early to beat the heat in the summer
But what’s beautiful is, he’s around the same age or so in 1983, that I am now, 36. He finishes 26 miles in 3 hours 51 minutes
When he’s published this book, in 2009, he’s probably been running for over 25 years! Now if that’s not magical realism, then what is?
And because of my breakthroughs I had last year through a personal transformation when it comes to health and fitness, I’m all the more inclined towards finishing this book and of course,
- Start running again.
- Maybe run even more marathons that I have until now
- And lastly, start writing and reading more again. (Including Musashi, which’s unfinished)
Coming back to the book, this book describes his tryst with running and writing and how both are connected to each other and how beautifully he writes, this, part memoir, part travelogue and part training log. It also covers his four-month prep, for the 2005 New York City Marathon, which he’s run probably 3 times now. He talks about the intricate details of how running helps him with his writing, the things one observes during training for the marathon, the slopes, the people he interacts and talks with, whether it’s in Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian to the Charles River in Boston.
He beautifully takes you through his journey right from the time when he started running back in the 80’s to the time he moves forward into the experience and what and how he feels as an enthusiast of the sport. Yes, running as a sport. And how taking it up has not only invigorated him from a fitness, health and longevity perspective, but also how he enjoys going for a run, with his walkman, listening to rock music and thinking about things that inspire him to write and how he’s become a better writer.
I love how he attributes his skill as a writer to his development as a runner and how focus and training are key to both disciplines. He also talks of how Raymond Chandler, the famous author, in private correspondence, once confessed that even if he didn’t write anything, he made sure he sat down at his desk every single day and concentrated. Pretty much similar to how he practically runs every single day, and in fact that’s something he did while writing Kafka on the Shore.
Interesting how this exercise, is very similar for a professional runner and a marathoner would relate to in building stamina (physical v/s mental for the author. ) And how it quietly strengthens one’s willpower.
What I also love is how he talks about, how he manages his anger especially at the end of his training runs beyond 22 miles and has to push himself no matter what. And once when on a run, after crossing 22 miles, early on as a young runner, he cramped and could have broken down easily and stopped or bowed down midway, but he didn’t and instead of taking the van/stopping, he walked the extra 4 miles to make it through the finish line.
And beautifully, later on he accepts responsibility in simply admitting that he didn’t train hard enough and that’s the only reason for his failure at this time. No excuses, no bullshit!
He does eventually talk about how running has also helped him quit smoking, and sleep better and become more energised, eventually to increase his endurance and longevity. As I write this, he’s 70 years old. And from what I know, he had been running up until 2009, when his book was published. Close to probably 30 years of running, at the age of close to 60 probably. And he also has participated in the Honolulu triathlon, after 2007, instead of running full marathon, which he says he finished easily and enjoyed doing it.
That’s the beauty of this guy, he runs, not just for longevity or increasing his life-span but also because he enjoys it and has fun doing it! Another great example of how magical realism in our lives might plays on to his life as a metaphor and inspires many to go ahead and take up running and fitness, cause of the fun in it.
Well, it has clearly inspired me to do all the three things, Read, Write and Run! And I hope I keep doing it consistently now… And hopefully soon write the second part of this series, and by then hope to have finished the book as well.
Do subscribe / follow me to get an update on this series soon. Until then, happy reading, writing and probably running… :-)
