The Compost

R E A D. A couple of weeks ago I started a memoir by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. The only other work I've read by him is a fictional novel, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, which I really enjoyed. The Bird mainly took place in a sort of fantasy Japan where the narrator and the reader never know what's around the next corner/page; is it a talking cat or a prostitute in a shiny pink raincoat? Hard to say. A few years ago when I heard Murakami was coming out with a memoir I was super pumped to read it, I knew it was a series of essays a mix of tales on runnning (Murakami is an avid long distance runner) and writing. As an author who has published 10+ novels and numerous short stories all fantastical and magicy I thought Murakami would be giving his readers an insight into his creative process and wildy imaginative imagination. I have about ten pages left and so far it's not what I expected. He writes mainly about running and little about writing. When he does talk about writing he focuses more on his career path than where his stories come from. The book is very well written and has kept me (definitely not a long distance runner) captivated enough to keep going. While I'm a little dissappointed that this nice guy won't let on how he comes up with talking cats and secret Japanese underworlds it feels good to get behind the scenes a little. When I finish the book I'll mail it to a marathon running friend and get back on the look out for a more spill-your-guts author.