Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Harvill Secker (2022), Edition: 1, 224 pages
Description
"A charmingly idiosyncratic look at writing, creativity, and the author's own novels. Haruki Murakami's myriad fans will be delighted by this unique look into the mind of a master storyteller. In this engaging book, the internationally best-selling author and famously reclusive writer shares with readers what he thinks about being a novelist; his thoughts on the role of the novel in our society; his own origins as a writer; and his musings on the sparks of creativity that inspire other writers, artists, and musicians. Readers who have long wondered where the mysterious novelist gets his ideas and what inspires his strangely surreal worlds will be fascinated by this highly personal look at the craft of writing"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member davidroche
As a fan of Haruki Murakami, it’s reassuring to know from his new book Novelist as a Vocation (Harvill Secker) that it may not be quite as easy as he appears to make it. Here he talks about the many facets of being a novelist, from the beginning when, aged around 30 and running his own jazz bar,
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he thought he’d give it a go. He then takes us through, amongst others, his views on originality and creativity, the art of writing, the importance of literary prizes, characterisation, and readers and audiences. It’s all very Murakami and effortless and gives the illusion that perhaps we could all do this while the cumulative content reveals that it is very unlikely that we could. His obsessions such as jazz come across, as always - not so much about cats here - and running and exercise is linked absolutely with his writing. It’s a great read for fans, with interesting nuggets such as the writing of his first novel was not going well so he decided to write the first draft in English and then translate it back to Japanese; his English was not so well developed so his style came out as very simplistic and the Murakami ‘voice’ was born. Show Less
LibraryThing member tibobi
The Short of It:
Fans of Murakami will enjoy this personal look at writing from his point of view.
The Rest of It:
If you’ve been around me for awhile then you know how much I love Murakami. I wait around, endlessly for new books to be translated and when they are, I have been known to beg and plead
Novelist as a Vocation is a collection of short essays about how he came to be a novelist. It touches on process but it’s more about the internal dialogue he had with himself about becoming a writer. One day, he just decided he was going to write a novel. He didn’t feel all that equipped to do so but he was a dedicated reader, and knew what he liked to read and felt that he had stories to tell. That’s it.
Some of his earlier works were not a big hit, at first. His short fiction pieces that were published in the New York Magazine is what made his name known in literary circles and from there, his fan base grew. His odd characters and fantastical story elements have found a place in my heart His writing is what I call a “palate cleanser”. I read all types of books but when I need a reset, I reach for Murakami. I often have to settle for a re-read since the translation process usually means books are about 3-4 years apart.
I was surprised at how much he shares in this new book. He is usually pretty private. An everyday guy, doing everyday things, who just happens to be an award winning author but he lets us in with this one. As readers we see his insecurities at play. I do believe that being vulnerable is what makes his stories so unique. His imagination and character development have no boundaries. I love this about him.
If you are curious about Murakami and have never read one of his novels, pick up Kafka on the Shore or The Windup Bird Chronicle. These two books will give you a very good idea of his writing style. After that, you will want to know more about him as a novelist. That’s where Novelist as a Vocation comes in. Recommend.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
Fans of Murakami will enjoy this personal look at writing from his point of view.
The Rest of It:
If you’ve been around me for awhile then you know how much I love Murakami. I wait around, endlessly for new books to be translated and when they are, I have been known to beg and plead
Show More
for a review copy. This was no exception.Novelist as a Vocation is a collection of short essays about how he came to be a novelist. It touches on process but it’s more about the internal dialogue he had with himself about becoming a writer. One day, he just decided he was going to write a novel. He didn’t feel all that equipped to do so but he was a dedicated reader, and knew what he liked to read and felt that he had stories to tell. That’s it.
Some of his earlier works were not a big hit, at first. His short fiction pieces that were published in the New York Magazine is what made his name known in literary circles and from there, his fan base grew. His odd characters and fantastical story elements have found a place in my heart His writing is what I call a “palate cleanser”. I read all types of books but when I need a reset, I reach for Murakami. I often have to settle for a re-read since the translation process usually means books are about 3-4 years apart.
I was surprised at how much he shares in this new book. He is usually pretty private. An everyday guy, doing everyday things, who just happens to be an award winning author but he lets us in with this one. As readers we see his insecurities at play. I do believe that being vulnerable is what makes his stories so unique. His imagination and character development have no boundaries. I love this about him.
If you are curious about Murakami and have never read one of his novels, pick up Kafka on the Shore or The Windup Bird Chronicle. These two books will give you a very good idea of his writing style. After that, you will want to know more about him as a novelist. That’s where Novelist as a Vocation comes in. Recommend.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dwcofer
This book is a collection of essays by famed novelist (and author of many published short stories) Haruki Murakami. The book is not a memoir, but it does contain much biographical material.
I have read much of Murakami’s work and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. This book is a welcome addition to his
While I enjoyed this book, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting more, especially greater and deeper insights into his writing. This disappointment is probably my own fault for expecting too much to begin with. Therefore, I still give it 4 stars.
I do recommend the book to all Murakami fans and lovers of his writing as well to those who may have never read him before. This is an excellent book to begin learning about the great Murakami and an introduction to him before delving into his short stories and novels.
I have read much of Murakami’s work and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. This book is a welcome addition to his
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fiction as a glance behind the curtain, so to speak. Chapters include “Why I became a Novelist,” “On Literary Prizes,” “So What Should I Write About,” “Reading Schools,” “Who Do I Write For,” and “Going Abroad: A New Frontier,” among several others.While I enjoyed this book, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting more, especially greater and deeper insights into his writing. This disappointment is probably my own fault for expecting too much to begin with. Therefore, I still give it 4 stars.
I do recommend the book to all Murakami fans and lovers of his writing as well to those who may have never read him before. This is an excellent book to begin learning about the great Murakami and an introduction to him before delving into his short stories and novels.
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
It is always fascinating to get a glimpse of an author’s method, the practical steps that he or she takes in order to write a novel. And it’s equally intriguing, though perhaps less useful, to hear an author’s opinions as to how he or she thinks they became the writer they did. Those
What was the early preparation that led to Murakami becoming a novelist? He really only identifies reading as his essential preparation. As a youth he read constantly. He read everything. And he even, unlike his high-school peers, struggled to read books in English. But in most other things he was just an ordinary young man. He didn’t do terribly well in school. He wasn’t an athlete (his running regimen didn’t begin until he was in his thirties). And he didn’t always dream of being a writer. It was just something he convinced himself he should try when he was 29.
The weaker chapters in this book all involve Murakami attempting to grapple with issues in (Japanese) society or in the publishing world. To be fair, he is a novelist, not an academic and not a social pundit. Feel free to gloss over those chapters. Soon enough you will be back to Murakami sitting in the outfield on the opening day of baseball season and suddenly being struck by the conviction that he could write a novel. So immediately after the game he went and bought a notepad and a new fountain pen. And then he did just that.
Gently recommended for fans of Murakami or those interested in writer’s methods.
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interested in these matters will get their fill here. From about the age of 30, Haruki Murakami, has been a full-time novelist. He takes a very workmanly approach to his vocation, with a set routine during the drafting period for a new novel. That includes running for an hour a day. Early to bed and early to rise. A daily word count quota that he always meets and, by choice, does not exceed. A brief pause after completing the first draft and then right back at it to substantially rewrite things in the second draft. Everything goes through three or more drafts before he feels it is ready for his first reader to read. And his first reader is always his wife.What was the early preparation that led to Murakami becoming a novelist? He really only identifies reading as his essential preparation. As a youth he read constantly. He read everything. And he even, unlike his high-school peers, struggled to read books in English. But in most other things he was just an ordinary young man. He didn’t do terribly well in school. He wasn’t an athlete (his running regimen didn’t begin until he was in his thirties). And he didn’t always dream of being a writer. It was just something he convinced himself he should try when he was 29.
The weaker chapters in this book all involve Murakami attempting to grapple with issues in (Japanese) society or in the publishing world. To be fair, he is a novelist, not an academic and not a social pundit. Feel free to gloss over those chapters. Soon enough you will be back to Murakami sitting in the outfield on the opening day of baseball season and suddenly being struck by the conviction that he could write a novel. So immediately after the game he went and bought a notepad and a new fountain pen. And then he did just that.
Gently recommended for fans of Murakami or those interested in writer’s methods.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BornAnalog
As Murakami notes, about half of these essays had their origins in a series of private reflections that he began around 2008. They were then published in a Japanese magazine, then supplemented with some additional material and first published in Japan in 2015, and not translated and published in
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English until 2022. This time lag is important, because I suspect that some of his social observations, particularly those connected with the value and place of novels, the willingness of readers to engage with complex, absract novels, and the nature of his readers more generally may well have shifted, given that most of them were written well before the unfolding horror of a world immersed in socially mediated narcissism and emotional simplicity had become apparent. But even allowing for that, the collection is uneven. That said, the best essays have the same quality as much of his faction: it will seem as if something ordinary is happening and then suddenly a sentence or two will surface that contains a specific insight that just takes your breath away. His descriptions of his work process are both inspiring and intimidating, but in their bracing professional approach actually reminded me of similar advice from Stephen King (and that's maybe not the first name that pops into your head when you read Murakami!). Many things her made me think about the craft of novel-writing differently (for example, his eschewing of the label "artist" because it constricts the novelist too much). One thing that I personally found annoying, but don't really know how to assess because of my own ignorance of Japanese language, lay in the constant, almost obsessive repetition of phrases like "well, this is jut my opinion," or "this is just the way it looks to me." I wasn't sure if this was an artifact of translating idioms that could perhaps play a cultural role in foregrounding deference and humility. At the same time, Murakam's observations (and his controversial approach to engaging in largely refusing, until recently, to engage with the literary world within Japan) seems at odd with this. So I didn't really know what to make of it. I enjoyed the chapter on the Japanese education system with a kind of clenched jaw smile; the systems are very different, but in its lack of effectiveness, particularly with regard to engaging with the language and cutlrures of others, he could be describing the US. Show Less
LibraryThing member SarahEBear
A frank and sincere account of what it is like to be an author. Murakami describes his rise to (unexpected) fame and all the trials, tribulations and the weight of other people's expectations. Assuming that little has been lost in the translation I suspect that I would very much enjoy the company
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of this witty, modest author. A wonderful read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Big_Bang_Gorilla
In which the acclaimed novelist sets out his methodology in writing his fiction as well as commenting on his relations with the publishing industry, critics, and readers. Murakami, as always in his nonfiction, is a modest and genial presence throughout, as he continually reassures us that various
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observations are his opinion only, or that all writers are different, which contradicts to a point his occasional stance that he hopes that his experiences might be helpful for aspiring novelists. The book also serves as a sort of memoir, as he describes the youthful lifestyle which eventuated in his literary career, and there are a few tangents where he ruminates on Japanese education and society. All in all, I enjoyed reading about the processes a fine writer employs to get a book going, but I wouldn't think that an inexperienced novelist would find his insights applicable to their own work. Show Less
Language
Original language
Japanese
Original publication date
2022
Physical description
224 p.; 8.74 inches
ISBN
1911215388 / 9781911215387
Local notes
A charmingly idiosyncratic look at writing, creativity, and the author's own novels.
Waterstones exclusive with white circles stencilled on black sprayed page edges.
Waterstones exclusive with white circles stencilled on black sprayed page edges.