Novelist as a Vocation

First edition

Hardback (08 Nov 2022)

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Publisher's Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER  An insightful look into the mind of a master storyteller-and a unique look at the craft of writing from the beloved and best-selling author of 1Q84, Norwegian Wood, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

"Murakami is like a magician who explains what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers" -New York Times Book Review

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: Esquire, Vulture, LitHub, New York Observer


Aspiring writers and readers who have long wondered where the mysterious novelist gets his ideas and what inspires his strangely surreal worlds will be fascinated by this engaging book from the internationally best-selling author. Haruki Murakami now shares with readers 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.

Here are the personal details of a life devoted to craft: the initial moment at a Yakult Swallows baseball game, when he suddenly knew he could write a novel; the importance of memory, what he calls a writer's "mental chest of drawers"; the necessity of loneliness, patience, and his daily running routine; the seminal role a carrier pigeon played in his career and more. 

"What I want to say is that in a certain sense, while the novelist is creating a novel, he is simultaneously being created by the novel as well." -Haruki Murakami

Book information

ISBN: 9780451494641
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Imprint: Knopf
Pub date:
Edition: First edition
DEWEY: 895.645
DEWEY edition: 23/eng/20220506
Language: English
Number of pages: xi, 208
Weight: 406g
Height: 153mm
Width: 218mm
Spine width: 29mm