I’ve already mentioned that I’ve been reading Haruki Murakami’s Novelist as a Vocation, which was published pre-pandemic in Japanese, but whose English translation (by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen) was only released in November. I’ve read a handful of Murakami’s previous books, but by no means the complete works.

According to this post from 2012, I once listed Murakami’s Norwegian Wood as one of my favourite books, and I’ve also watched a film adaptation. This astonishes me: I barely remember anything about the book, and I have no recollection at all of the film, and would have denied all knowledge of its existence.

Anyway, Novelist as a Vocation is a collection of eleven essays in which Murakami reflects on all sorts of aspects of writing novels: his writing history, his thoughts on the relationship between writing and society, his inspirations, how he responds to being asked for tips by aspiring writers, and his views on literary awards, among many other things. He writes in his idiosyncratic wandering style, which gives the essays the quality of speaking with a knowledgable friend. There are, of course, frequent references to Murakami’s previous novels, though I didn’t find this book difficult to follow as a result of not having read all those books.

I really enjoyed this insight into Murakami’s craft, though I wonder if I enjoyed the style more than the content. I don’t think there were any earth-shattering revelations, though it is always interesting to peek into how people go about writing novels.