I always find it hard to ignore a book with a catchy title. Some people may call this a case of clever branding, personally I call it providence. In short ,I’m glad I chanced upon this book. We are all directed by our social circle and its accepted notions to believe that larger than life topics like the intricate trappings of human nature can only be expressed in 1000 page treatises powder-puffed with abstruse verbiage .(Ayn Rand fans are you listening).
Haruki Murakami’s “What I talk about when I talk about Running” seems to achieve the same purpose in simple prose. It is a delightful book that’s makes you want to pull out your running shoes and find the nearest open stretch.
An engaging read!!
There some lines in the book that linger in memory long after you flip the last page. Sample these:
Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.
I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.
The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.
I have only a few reasons to keep on running, and a truckload of them to quit. All I can do is keep those few reasons nicely polished.
If you are looking for literary sophistication, then you have picked up the wrong book. I’d suggest you lug around your Fountainhead, sip on a latte and look erudite. The charm of “What I talk about when I talk about running” lies in the fact it does not attempt to make a point. It merely jogs along beckoning you to join it and if you find something worth keeping then it’s yours.
I think, I’m gonna go for a run now. I’m sure after reading this book so will You.
this reminds me of R.K. Narayan’s postscript in the Talkative Man.
Might as well give it a read…