Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Dull November 20, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Well this one won't keep you awake at night. As a modest runner myself I found much of this book tedious, samey and uninspiring. A book like this is crying out for some dazzling insight into the process, the feeling, the elation of running but instead the reader just gets a not very interesting insight into the writer himself. I can't help but think that Murakami is just doing a walk-through here, scraping the barrel for a few old diary entries at the behest of his publisher. One run merges into another with only the degree of self-indulgence being the main distinguishing feature of each. More than anything I was surprised by the author's afterword in which he claimed to have honed and polished his work ad infinitum before finally releasing it. It doesn't show. Or maybe, to be a little kinder to him, it's just the translation.
A journalist the other day mentioned something called the 'aphrodisiac effect', a kind of updated version of the Emperor's new clothes. When in the vicinity of greatness, talent, fame or power people go all gooey, leaving their normal critical faculties at the door. How else, he mused, could you explain all the leggy blondes that used to flock round Henry Kissinger, or the people who hang on the every word of Bill Gates? Much the same, I suspect, is happening with Murakami and this book. Just like Henri Cartier-Bresson is overrated as a photographer (there, I've said it) so Murakami just has to cobble together some not very coherent musings and his adoring public will ensure that he rises to the top of the best-sellers lists.
Truly Disappointing... November 12, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have to say that I whole-heartedly agree with the few dissenters amongst the reviewers of this book. It was a complete let-down. Indulgent, poorly translated and factually weak, it missed the point completely. As a seasoned runner of twenty years experience I can, to some degree empathise with the author's feelings towards his need to run and the daily grind this inherently brings. However, any book worth it's salt needs to be engaging, entertaining and enlightening. This book was none of these.
The author failed to mention the obsessive-compulsive aspect of running training, the heart-ache, the time away from family and loved-ones not to mention the great highs the sport can also bestow.
After the first 50 pages I was left feeling cheated and a little concerned that an author of such undoubted talents (given his previous work), could submit such an 'unfinished and uninspiring' piece to market.
So, to conclude, if you're considering purchasing this book or browsing in your local shop and contemplating spending your hard-earned... run, run away, as fast as you can.
so disappointed October 25, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have just read the other reviews of this book and have to say I am in complete disagreement with them. I would say this is the most disappointing book I have read. I felt it failed on every level. It was not entertaining, informative, thought provoking or particularly well written. It seemed incredibly self indulgent on the part of the author. As someone who has run fairly seriously for the past 40 years, his musings were obvious, one-dimensionsal and boring. I kept thinking 'so what?' 'who cares?'. Why did he need to tell us he was a talented, award-winning writer? Perhaps because, if like me the reader had no previous exposure to his novels, we would never have guessed from this offering. If he wants to compare his writing to his running, then he has just had the equivalent of a 'stinker' of a race. I questioned what his editor/publisher was thinking about in releasing this material, however judging from the acclaim of other reviewers(are they simply fans who refuse to see that on this occasion their emperor had no shorts and vest on?)perhaps I have to accept that they are all right and I am wrong. That said, I know the extreme reaction the book prompted in me; I felt cheated and defrauded to the point I wrote to the publisher two weeks ago asking for a refund. I am still awaiting a reply.
 Writing and running at its best October 17, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book immensely, both as someone who has read all of Murakami's books available in English, and as someone who has just trained for and run a half marathon.
For the first time, Murakami publishes a unique insight into the man behind the vivid imagination that created all his legendary titles, explaining how he started running to stay fit while sitting at home writing, and how the discipline he attaches to writing is very much the same discipline it takes to run an average of 6 miles a day, every day, for the last 23 or 24 years.
Having just trained for a reasonbly long run for 4 months, and run "only" 3 to 4 times a week, I enjoyed finding that Murakami describes so well the thoughts of a runner - he sums up brilliantly how you overcome the fatigue and pain when running by stating: "pain is inevitable, suffering is not". Once you realise that, he explains it is a matter of how you manage your expectations when focussing on any task that requires stamina, dedication and a bit of pain, be it running, writing or anything else in life.
The other aspect of Murakami's personal life that comes out of this book is his sad realisation that you can not beat the ageing process; no matter how much he trains, he can not improve on his times any more, and he acknowledges with much pain the inevitability of getting older by the day. Alongside his diminishing running capabilities, he fears that his best writing years may be past him, though he takes comfort from knowing that a few writers produced their best works in their late years.
We will have to see what else Murakami has to offer - I certainly will continue to buy his books.
The Lonliness Of A Long Distance Writer September 30, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Anyone who knows anything of Murakmi's work should be aware that a book about running written by him won't just be a book about running. Short, but never slight, the book muses on many subjects from memory, to why he started writing, perfecting a swimming technique, to some of the best music to run to. All written in Murakmi's own distinctive voice.
Whatever he writes about this is Murakami's voice you're hearing. There is insight into the kind of person he is and also the kind of person runners are. There is plenty of running here and at times it does almost feel like the book has been written at the pace of a long run as its energy is brisk yet economical. For anyone looking for a big novel, it's not here. For anyone who wants a look into the world of a man who likes to write and run and tell you about it there's enough here to keep you entertained for a while.
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