Hesitation over accepting the Jerusalem Prize
Murakami says he questioned whether traveling to Israel and accepting the prize was proper, worrying it might appear as though he endorsed military power or that his work might be boycotted.
Haruki Murakami
Japanese
Born 1949
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Noma Literary Prize, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Awards.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
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Books ReviewedIn Haruki Murakami's own words
Haruki Murakami accepts the 2009 Jerusalem Prize and delivers his speech on standing with the egg against the wall.
Uploaded by AP Archive, 2015 · Watch on YouTube ·
Doing the opposite of advice
Murakami says that a key factor in his decision to attend was that so many people advised against it, noting that as a novelist, he naturally tends to do the reverse of what people urge him to do.
Deciding to see and speak directly
Murakami says he chose to attend the ceremony so he could see conditions with his own eyes and speak directly rather than remain silent and stay away.
Standing with the egg against the wall
Murakami says a core principle he keeps carved into his mind while writing fiction is that between a high, solid wall and an egg breaking against it, he will always stand with the egg.
Haruki Murakami books in order
1 books; 1 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
2008Our review →
Ask LuvemBooks about Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer whose LuvemBooks coverage currently stands at one reviewed title: the memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which holds a 4.4/5 reader rating from over 10,000 Amazon ratings. In it, they draw on a training journal kept while preparing for the New York City Marathon to show how two solitary disciplines — long-distance running and novel writing — shape and mirror each other. It's a focused starting point that reveals how Murakami thinks about craft, endurance, and the writing life.
- Where should I start?
- With only one Murakami book reviewed on LuvemBooks, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is our clear starting point. It's a memoir built from a journal kept while training for the New York City Marathon, so it works both as an entry into their thinking on writing and as a stand-alone book about running and discipline. Readers rate it 4.4/5 on Amazon across more than 10,000 ratings.
- What's their writing style?
- From the one book we've reviewed, Murakami's nonfiction voice is reflective and personal: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running began as a journal, and it lets two private obsessions — distance running and writing — illuminate each other. Rather than a how-to, it reads as a meditation on solitary discipline. Penguin Random House describes it as an illuminating glimpse into the mind of one of our greatest artists.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed one Haruki Murakami book: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir. It's a journal-born reflection on how marathon training and the writing life feed each other, and it holds a 4.4/5 reader rating from 10,696 Amazon ratings.
- What genre do they write?
- The one Murakami book we've reviewed, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, is a memoir — nonfiction rooted in their own experience training for the New York City Marathon. Their wider bibliography also includes fiction, with Wind/Pinball listed among their notable works. We'll pin down more genre detail as our reviewed coverage expands.
- What should I read after the running memoir?
- If the memoir's window into Murakami's writing life appeals to you, the natural next step is their fiction — Wind/Pinball is listed among their notable works and is where many readers begin with their novels. We haven't reviewed it on LuvemBooks yet, so check back as we add more of their backlist. In the meantime, the memoir itself rewards a re-read for anyone who runs or writes.
Who is Haruki Murakami?
Where should I start?
What's their writing style?
Books we've reviewed
What genre do they write?
What should I read after the running memoir?
Who is Haruki Murakami?
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer whose notable works include Wind/Pinball. On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed one of their books so far: the memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which grew out of a journal they kept while training for the New York City Marathon. That book holds a 4.4/5 reader rating based on 10,696 Amazon ratings.
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