Having marked the release date of this book months in advance, finally being able to anticipate reading something new written by Murakami, I was more than satisfied by “Novelist as a Vocation”. It gave such an intimate insight into the author’s life, how he became a writer and how he manages to continue being one. Filled with personal philosophical thoughts, revealing details about the publishing industry or how he managed to find his own style – these are some themes that are touched upon within the book.

One thing I do want you to understand is that I am, when all is said and done, a very ordinary person. I do think I have some innate ability to write novels (if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to write novels all these many years). But that aside, if I do say so myself, I’m the type of ordinary guy you’ll find anywhere. […] I doubt that if I didn’t write novels, anyone would ever have noticed me.

p. x

While reading, you’ll be able to take along various book, author and movie suggestions. It really felt like sitting down for a conversation with an older friend, who has many life lessons to share. The author’s sense of humour really came across, you got the feeling that he generally doesn’t take himself too seriously and genuinely enjoys the process of putting words to paper. He dissected what it means to be a great novelist, what literary prizes are worth and shared advice, as well as inspiration for those, who might want to start writing themselves.

The thing that makes novels different is that practically anybody can write one if they put their mind to it. […] An aspiring novelist […] needs only the basic ability to write (most people have that), a ballpoint pen, a pad of paper, and the capacity to make up a story to turn out something resembling a novel – whether they have received any specialized training is quite beside the point.

p. 6

A criticism that exists around Murakami’s novels, is that the stories are often written with a sexist perception, female characters being portrayed in a less nuanced way, them often only being used for sexual purposes. This topic was briefly touched upon when the author explained that he “never thought that [he had] a good handle on […] women’s feelings (p. 183). When describing the image of a novelist, the author depicted that person as a man. We won’t know whether it’s a specificity of the translation or if Murakami primarily only sees men as novelists, so this might stay a defect that the author won’t be able to detach himself from.

That way of thinking and living is at odds, perhaps, with the usual image people have of novelists. [T]he sense that many people still expect novelists to […] pawn their wife’s kimono for money, get hooked on alcohol, or women. […] Or if not that, then the expectation that the writer be a man of action.

p. 122

Due to that point (knowing that I personally wouldn’t forgive another male writer being sexist), as well as not having enjoyed an entire chapter at all, “Regarding Schools”, I decided to settle on the rating of 4/5 ★. It didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the narrative, didn’t have much added value to it and the topic of the Fukushima reactor just felt completely out of place. Nevertheless, Murakami still managed to give me an even deeper appreciation of what it means to be a professional writer, revealing how much work needs to continuously keep on going into that. There were parts that reminded me of passages within the book “Schreibtisch mit Aussicht” where female authors described what it’s like to make one’s living by putting words to paper. If you’re curious about that, you’ll definitely enjoy many parts within “Novelist as a Vocation”.

It’s not that difficult to write a novel, maybe even two. But it’s another thing altogether to keep producing, to live off one’s writing, to survive. That’s a Herculean task. It’s fair to say not many are up to it.

p. 7

[W]riting a novel means sitting alone in my study for over a year (sometimes two or even three years), diligently writing away. I get up early and focus solely on writing for five to six hours every single day. […] That kind of life, though, gets you out of shape physically, so every day I spend about an hour outdoors exercising. That sets me up for the next day’s work. Day after day, without exception, I repeat this cycle.

p. 113-114

If you haven’t read any of Murakami’s novels yet, I’d highly suggest you to go through a couple of them first before getting into this book. It will make you appreciate it more to receive the unusual privilege of getting to know the man that’s behind the creation of all those magical parallel universes. It’s not every day that you come across an author that reveals so much about what goes on backstage of the finished product. For all the Murakami fans out there, this is an absolute must read and I’m sure that you’ll find it enjoyable! 🙂

★★★★★ (5/5)

_{Edition: ISBN 978-1-911-21538-7
Harvill Seeker, 2019 (Originally published in 2007)}