Novelist as a Vocation
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- Create Date：2023-01-07 18:16:27
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Haruki Murakami
- ISBN：0451494644
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Ine
，
4，5 ⭐
Adam
，
Tenth Murakami book I’ve read。 This one’s a mess but I might need to reread it: I may have missed some of this wisdom crowded in with the defensiveness and redundancies。
joanna
，
I enjoyed this window into Murakami's writer life: how he started writing， how his process evolved （from writing whatever he felt like to using narrative frameworks; from writing around his work schedule to selling his cafe and writing full time）， and how he broke into the American market， not through the process set aside for "translated writers，" but the way any English-language writer would。 I get the sense he's faced a lot of criticism domestically throughout his career， and this is reflecte I enjoyed this window into Murakami's writer life: how he started writing， how his process evolved （from writing whatever he felt like to using narrative frameworks; from writing around his work schedule to selling his cafe and writing full time）， and how he broke into the American market， not through the process set aside for "translated writers，" but the way any English-language writer would。 I get the sense he's faced a lot of criticism domestically throughout his career， and this is reflected in the different essays。 My favorite essays were the ones that spoke purely about his philosophy on writing， and less the ones that detailed his thoughts on literary prizes， originality， etc。 。。。more
Greg Zimmerman
，
It's almost disappointing to learn how mundane a genius like Murakami's creative process is。 You expect his novels to shoot like lightning bolt out of his eyeballs，fully formed。。。or something。 But， no。 He writes and rewrites and rewrites， just like everyone else。But this collection of essays about his work， his thoughts on the book industry， on what it takes to be a career writer， and so much more， is really fascinating。 It's part autobiography， part "how to" -- though he constantly reminds us t It's almost disappointing to learn how mundane a genius like Murakami's creative process is。 You expect his novels to shoot like lightning bolt out of his eyeballs，fully formed。。。or something。 But， no。 He writes and rewrites and rewrites， just like everyone else。But this collection of essays about his work， his thoughts on the book industry， on what it takes to be a career writer， and so much more， is really fascinating。 It's part autobiography， part "how to" -- though he constantly reminds us that what works for him might not work for other writers （sort of the antithesis of Stephen King's "On Writing，" in which he tells you things like "Don't ever use adverbs。"）Nary a mention of cats， though。 Which is odd。 。。。more
Elyse Walters
，
Audiobook…。read by Kotaro Watanabe ……7 hours and 35 minutes First published in 2015 in Japanese。I’m glad it was translated in English。 I enjoyed Murakami’s thoughts- his feelings - his compassion…。and his professional views about writing a novel。 As purely a reader （and only a sharing-type-writer） …。I totally get what he was saying about the difference between the person who writes one novel， maybe even two novels than the person who has invested his time over a 30 year。 （which Murakami has done Audiobook…。read by Kotaro Watanabe ……7 hours and 35 minutes First published in 2015 in Japanese。I’m glad it was translated in English。 I enjoyed Murakami’s thoughts- his feelings - his compassion…。and his professional views about writing a novel。 As purely a reader （and only a sharing-type-writer） …。I totally get what he was saying about the difference between the person who writes one novel， maybe even two novels than the person who has invested his time over a 30 year。 （which Murakami has done） I loved learning about Murakami’s younger days - his frugal life with his wife 。 。 。 “When the nights were cold， we clang to each other with our cat”。 When even younger — Murakami sounded like an adorable， hopeless， spoiled， only child， unaware kid — ordinary — in the best of ways。 The gritty-street-wise， young man， was a better fit for Murakami than studying at the University。 And…。 “Nobody could take away his love of books and music”。 I loved that he ran a jazz-cafe。 Haha…。 …。He said he was screwed over but he didn’t get into it much…。。 He does have one redeeming feature， he says… “I work my butt off when it’s something I like”。 When he talked about the literary world， I was a little less interested and don’t know if I fully understand what he was saying…。 …。 Other than he removed himself in the literary world。 He was clear he never set out to be a writer in the first place。 “He was just an ordinary guy who happened to top off a novel”。 He also had a full-time job， and he was too busy to do anything other than focus on his own work。 Murakami’s thoughts about originality was interesting— with examples about the work of ‘The Beach Boys’ and ‘The Beatles’。 This was a wonderful ‘non-novel’ about novel writing。 I laughed！I smiled！I found the audiobook endearing！！ 。。。more
Craig McQuinn
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I'm going to start reading The New Yorker。 I'm going to start reading The New Yorker。 。。。more
Patrick
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This book was more interesting to me as someone who has thought about writing than as a fan of Murakami。 I'm not sure that casual readers of his novels would appreciate or enjoy this book。 It does start off fairly repetitive of his other writing （especially since I have read about his writing inspiration story in a number of his other works）， but other than the section on schooling I found it quite enjoyable for an aspiring writer。 This book was more interesting to me as someone who has thought about writing than as a fan of Murakami。 I'm not sure that casual readers of his novels would appreciate or enjoy this book。 It does start off fairly repetitive of his other writing （especially since I have read about his writing inspiration story in a number of his other works）， but other than the section on schooling I found it quite enjoyable for an aspiring writer。 。。。more
Joseph Power
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Honestly， I’m giving this book 3 stars because 2 felt harsh。 I wish this book was less autobiographical and more reflections on writing as a whole。 The most interesting parts being when he talked about about the Japanese education system and his thoughts on the different types of characters used in novels。 Outside of that there are some moments of great advice for aspiring writers， but an awful lot of the time it’s just a narcissistic waffle。 To be honest I should’ve known what to expect conside Honestly， I’m giving this book 3 stars because 2 felt harsh。 I wish this book was less autobiographical and more reflections on writing as a whole。 The most interesting parts being when he talked about about the Japanese education system and his thoughts on the different types of characters used in novels。 Outside of that there are some moments of great advice for aspiring writers， but an awful lot of the time it’s just a narcissistic waffle。 To be honest I should’ve known what to expect considering he recently released a book about his favourite t shirts。 。。。more
Roy Lotz
，
I had high hopes for this book。 As an aspiring novelist， with a fair amount of respect for Murakami （I loved his book on running）， I hoped that his book on writing would be inspiring or， at the very least， motivating。 But this is not a how-to book。 Nor is it a kind of artistic autobiography。 The book is， rather， a series of short essays on the writing world originally published in Japan， all of which could be read independently of one another。ttThere are， indeed， a few pieces of advice， and some I had high hopes for this book。 As an aspiring novelist， with a fair amount of respect for Murakami （I loved his book on running）， I hoped that his book on writing would be inspiring or， at the very least， motivating。 But this is not a how-to book。 Nor is it a kind of artistic autobiography。 The book is， rather， a series of short essays on the writing world originally published in Japan， all of which could be read independently of one another。ttThere are， indeed， a few pieces of advice， and some tidbits of autobiography， as well as some reflections on the Japanese publishing business and the education system。 None of these topics， however， is explored with anything approximating depth， and half of the book is spent apologizing for not having more to say。 Further， what he does have to say is either specific to his own case or， perhaps， specific to Japan。 And it must be said that he does not make much of an effort to persuade his readers of his opinions—opinions which， for the most part， are neither original nor subtle。ttBut rather than harp on the poor man， let me offer an example: One night my wife and I were trudging home with our heads down， too broke to make the bank payment that was due the next day， when we stumbled upon a crumpled wad of bills lying in the street。 Whether it was synchronicity or some kind of sign， I don’t know， but strange to say， it was exactly the amount we needed。 It really saved us， since otherwise our check would have bounced。 This story （hard to believe， but perhaps true） encapsulates what frustrated me about this book。 Just as finding the exact right amount of money， at the perfect time， is not really financial advice， Murakami’s story of becoming a writing （inspiration out of the blue） and his account of his own work （writing what he wants， when he wants to） is not exactly useful， or even encouraging， for others trying to practice the craft。ttAs far as writing advice goes， Murakami’s is good， if rather standard: be consistent， set a word goal， re-write often， read a lot， take breaks between drafts。 Perhaps his most idiosyncratic tip is to become physically fit。 As somebody who both writes and runs， I simply don’t experience the connection he feels between aerobic fitness and working on a novel。 Surely， there are few things less physically demanding。 Murakami’s stance on exercise seems directly opposed to that articulated in， say， some of Thomas Mann’s short stories， wherein creativity is linked to illness and physical weakness。 Well， if it is not good for your fiction， at least exercise will be good for your health。ttIf I may complain a bit more about this book， the last quality which irked me is Murakami’s （apparent） disingenuousness。 For example， he frequently denigrates his own intelligence and talent， and portrays himself as somebody who is neither special nor particularly gifted。 Yet it is difficult for me to believe that he entirely believes these things， since if he did he would hardly bother writing these essays。 It also strikes me as insincere to write essays about your own opinion， from your own perspective （as we all must， by virtue of being human）， while constantly reiterating that it is only your opinion and might be wrong， etc。， etc。 In sum， it struck me as a kind of false humility which was， for me， off-putting and unnecessary。 Murakami has earned the right to strong opinions， at least about the writing world。ttMy word， I have written a fairly nasty review of this book。 Let me insist， then， that this is all from my own perspective and does not represent more than the opinion of an online book-reviewer。 I am neither particularly talented nor intelligent， and in any case this book review won’t change anything。 I am sorry for taking up your time。 All of this would never have happened if this book had not been left un-attended on a bench in Central Park， at the exact time I was hoping to read a collection of essays by a Japanese writer。 Was it fate？ 。。。more
Tasha
，
Very interesting and I’ll use some passages in my classes for sure。
George Cutter
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This felt like a fitting introduction to Murakami as a writer。 I've never read his work before （I've only really heard of Kafka on the Shore） and I couldn't resist picking this up。 As a writer myself， books about writing tend to be instant pick-ups for me。 I liked these essays very much。 Murakami's takes on creativity， work ethic， and the writing practice itself were all interesting reads and it's made me all the more eager to read his fiction。 I like his style a lot and his philosophies made fo This felt like a fitting introduction to Murakami as a writer。 I've never read his work before （I've only really heard of Kafka on the Shore） and I couldn't resist picking this up。 As a writer myself， books about writing tend to be instant pick-ups for me。 I liked these essays very much。 Murakami's takes on creativity， work ethic， and the writing practice itself were all interesting reads and it's made me all the more eager to read his fiction。 I like his style a lot and his philosophies made for breezy reading。 。。。more
Simon Johnston
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Solipsistic and rambling。 Corny guy。 Basically， the whole book is him saying， I'm actually not a narcissist。 Really！ I'm not！ But I think he's actually very narcissistic。 Not much on craft either。 Bad！ Solipsistic and rambling。 Corny guy。 Basically， the whole book is him saying， I'm actually not a narcissist。 Really！ I'm not！ But I think he's actually very narcissistic。 Not much on craft either。 Bad！ 。。。more
Marina
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Loved it！ Humble， yet confident about personal abilities。 In my view， that is the winning combination！
John
，
3。5 stars
Mary Kendall
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This book was a treat。 I am a fan of Murakami but never knew much about his backstory。Here， we get a rewarding glimpse of his quirky and unique personality。I connected with a lot of his thoughts on writing and writers。 This line， in particular， was a stand out:“Novels well up naturally from within you， not something you can casually， strategically change。” 💯P。S。 How about this awesome cover？
Léa
，
If you’re looking for a non fiction to aid you with your writing， this book isn’t that。 I definitely went into this with the wrong expectations and whilst that meant my enjoyment naturally faltered， this book had something different to give。 Novelist as a Vocation follows Murakami’s personal experience with writing and getting into the publishing sphere。 As a lover of his works （all be it， I’ve only read a couple） it was fascinating to see how his publishing journey began， blossomed and is still If you’re looking for a non fiction to aid you with your writing， this book isn’t that。 I definitely went into this with the wrong expectations and whilst that meant my enjoyment naturally faltered， this book had something different to give。 Novelist as a Vocation follows Murakami’s personal experience with writing and getting into the publishing sphere。 As a lover of his works （all be it， I’ve only read a couple） it was fascinating to see how his publishing journey began， blossomed and is still， growing。 Whilst his opinions on certain writing factors differed from my own， they undoubtedly made me consider my own approach to the craft。 His views and experiences on writers block for example， differed so greatly from my own and yet it’s something that I will be thinking about going forward on my own writing journey。 Overall， this book was an incredibly fascinating view into one of the greatest writers in our modern day and his experience perfecting his craft。 。。。more
Simi West
，
As a writer myself， I was interested in Murakami’s tricks of the trade。 It’s a series of short essays， so I think you could pick and choose which parts to read， although I read it all in order。 I found it insightful and really enjoyed it。 I’ll be reading more of his fiction work now through a different lens， now that I know more about his life and writing practises！
LobsterGal
，
I think that this is one of my favorite Murakami books to come out in awhile。 He has this way of writing that feels like you are just listening to him talk。 There are a few quips that had me snickering out loud。 Worth the read。
David Westenhaver
，
This book included many interesting stories about Murakami’s life and his philosophy on writing。 It’s also full of sometimes confusing tangents， but they are often compelling in their own right， even if off topic。 I plan to return to a couple of my favorite essays many times。
Kanako Okiron
，
This book is my thoughts exactly so imagine that a lesser known author wrote a book about writing。
Duc
，
The audio version has the voice actor with a Japanese accent to convey Murakami's voice。 Interesting effects。 One chapter defends his rejections from literary awards。 He talks about how he started writing。 He attended a baseball game and at the end of the game， the idea of becoming a writer came to his mind。 He got an award for his debut novel， which afterwards he was neglected from further awards。 Ironic， don't you think？ Paul Auster began his writing career with a baseball incident。 He asked a The audio version has the voice actor with a Japanese accent to convey Murakami's voice。 Interesting effects。 One chapter defends his rejections from literary awards。 He talks about how he started writing。 He attended a baseball game and at the end of the game， the idea of becoming a writer came to his mind。 He got an award for his debut novel， which afterwards he was neglected from further awards。 Ironic， don't you think？ Paul Auster began his writing career with a baseball incident。 He asked a famous baseball player， Willie Mays？ player for an autograph; Paul didn't have a pencil。 From that moment on， little Paul vowed to always cary a pen or pencil。 Check out Paul's Louisiana channel for his discussion of this story about the missed autograph。 It turns out， Amy Tan knew a person who knew a person and told this story to Willie Mays？ Willie cried and signed a baseball for Paul after some 30 years。 BTW， Paul writes with an Aurora Fountain Pen with a fine nib because his handwriting is so tiny。Murakami wrote with a Sailor fountain pen。 Murakami said he started with FP because there was a lack of word processors back when he started to write。 Paul starts with handwriting and then swivels his chair to the other side where the computer is and types his handwritten words for editing。 。。。more
Paul
，
I fall in and out of love with Murakami's writing but I do keep coming back for more。 In his non-fiction he allows his own voice to be heard， the same voice that is present in his novels and short stories， but there it seems to be intentionally restrained or filtered。 Whether writing about music， running， or here about writing， his is an engaging point of view with very personal opinions。 This book isn't about how to be a writer， but about how Haruki Murakami became a writer， and the work， disci I fall in and out of love with Murakami's writing but I do keep coming back for more。 In his non-fiction he allows his own voice to be heard， the same voice that is present in his novels and short stories， but there it seems to be intentionally restrained or filtered。 Whether writing about music， running， or here about writing， his is an engaging point of view with very personal opinions。 This book isn't about how to be a writer， but about how Haruki Murakami became a writer， and the work， discipline， and effort involved。 Having read it I now feel the urge to revisit some of his earlier works， to re-read them with new insight into their creation。 。。。more
Izy
，
A wonderful read。 Murakami takes us through many aspects of the writing process - from the drafting of his novels and to his thoughts on his readership - in a welcoming and digestible way。 I had a profound sense of honesty from Murakami and found it deeply encouraging for aspiring writers， some parts even made me well up！From someone who is thinking about writing novels， this is just what I needed， and I encourage any who are fans of Murakami， or just aspiring writers/like reading about the writ A wonderful read。 Murakami takes us through many aspects of the writing process - from the drafting of his novels and to his thoughts on his readership - in a welcoming and digestible way。 I had a profound sense of honesty from Murakami and found it deeply encouraging for aspiring writers， some parts even made me well up！From someone who is thinking about writing novels， this is just what I needed， and I encourage any who are fans of Murakami， or just aspiring writers/like reading about the writing process， to read this。 。。。more
Connor Oswald
，
Murakami told me he doesn't think I can be a novelist。。。 I loved it。 Murakami told me he doesn't think I can be a novelist。。。 I loved it。 。。。more
Michael Reffold
，
Very readable but a little repetitive in places - it didn’t feel like Murakami had all that much to say about his novels so this felt like more of a career and life overview rather than going into detail on anything。
Kwan-Ann
，
While I still will never touch another book that Murakami has written， it was actually a really interesting glimpse into how he works， the process he goes through， from writing to editing， and his views on having been translated and received abroad。
Tammy
，
Japanese humility does not translate well- all the “this is just my opinion but” clauses may just be requisite throat-clearing in the original， but make Murakami come across as conceited and smarmy in the English。 But the essays are worth reading for his take on school and PE， the Fukushima nuclear blowout， and some lovely metaphors which I will dig out as examples at a later time。
Oliver Goddard
，
A nice book to start the year off。 A brisk collection of essays and musings， offering sage nuts-and-bolts advice for aspiring artists。 Sometimes it veers into generalisations and gets a little repetitive， but it’s never too distracting。 In particular I liked ‘When I Became a Novelist’， ‘On Originality’， and ‘Making Time Your Ally: On Writing a Novel’。
Tony GD
，
As I mentioned to my brother recently， books about writing can be great places to find useful book recommendations， and this was no exception。 I've got a list of 5-8 things I'd like to check out as a result of listening to this。 I'll have to re-read （i。e。 "actually" read） this one though， as the version I've ingested was an audiobook。 I didn't plan to listen to it first， but that was the version that first became available to me through the library and the app Libby。 I don't have anything inhere As I mentioned to my brother recently， books about writing can be great places to find useful book recommendations， and this was no exception。 I've got a list of 5-8 things I'd like to check out as a result of listening to this。 I'll have to re-read （i。e。 "actually" read） this one though， as the version I've ingested was an audiobook。 I didn't plan to listen to it first， but that was the version that first became available to me through the library and the app Libby。 I don't have anything inherently against audiobooks， but I do believe it's easier to retain something I've passed my eyes over rather than my ears。 I sprinted through this one because I'd just finished another book， and had a road trip that gave me four days in a car within one week。 Several times I found myself looking at the landscape scrolling by and realized I hadn't been paying close attention for a minute or so。 Sometimes I'll space out like that while reading， but hardly ever for more than one sentence or two。 I don't like to hit the "go back 15 seconds" button 3-4 times every time my attention wanders， but it was kind of nice to hear some things twice。 All that having been said， there was one other time I listened to a book， then read it and I found I retained and absorbed it very well that way。 Enough about the medium！ The message？I don't know what I was expecting， but this was an incredibly Murakami-ish book， and it gave me lots of interesting insights into him and his process。 If there is one thing this is not， it's not a "How to write a novel！" book， but it feels like that's the intended audience。 It seems this is because he gets a LOT of questions from aspiring novelists and a book like this is a great way to get some solid answers down for the record， and minimize the need to repeat the answers to those questions in the future。 Even though the theme of this book is very much "hey， this worked for me， I don't know about you。。。"， I did find it a bit inspiring。 I'm not really driven to write fiction， but somehow I did find myself jotting down some story ideas out of nowhere。 So， hey！ 。。。more
Sophie Guillas
，
In this book， Haruki Murakami makes it clear that almost anyone could write a novel， but it takes a certain amount of dedication and effort to make a career out of novel writing。I was a little disappointed to start with。 I got the impression that this book would be a guide on how to be a professional writer - and to a certain extent it is。 The problem is that Haruki Murakami doesn't seem to trouble himself with a lot of the writing industry。 He doesn't write with deadlines， he doesn't pay much a In this book， Haruki Murakami makes it clear that almost anyone could write a novel， but it takes a certain amount of dedication and effort to make a career out of novel writing。I was a little disappointed to start with。 I got the impression that this book would be a guide on how to be a professional writer - and to a certain extent it is。 The problem is that Haruki Murakami doesn't seem to trouble himself with a lot of the writing industry。 He doesn't write with deadlines， he doesn't pay much attention to literary awards， and he doesn't often work with the public。 It's a valid stance to take as a writer， but it felt like the book was missing something。In the second half， I tried to change gears as a reader and had a much better time。 I approached it more as a history of what publishing looked like in Japan in the 70s/80s and moving toward international publishing later on。 I've read a few contemporary Japan books and it was interesting to see the cultural context that they/Murakami are working from！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Novelist as a Vocation
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Novelist as a Vocation&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft