Novelist As a Vocation

Novelist As A Vocation is an overlapping series of eleven essays, originally written by Murakami just as an exercise for himself, but which have now been overhauled and published in this collection. I suppose I should admit here than, when offered the book, I didn't think I had actually read anything else by Murakami. As it turned out I was reminded that I had read his running memoir several years ago (before I started reviewing everything I read), but I am yet to pick up a Murakami novel. That said, I am fascinated by the myriad ways in which writers ply their craft so I was still curious about Murakami's insights.

As he repeatedly tells readers, he has been a novelist for thirty-five years (at the time of the Japanese publication), yet his experience seemed somewhat atypical from what I had expected. He has interesting ideas about the characters and personalities of novelists in general - never bother inviting two of them to the same dinner party - and also addresses concepts including literary prizes and how 'what constitutes literature' is determined. For me, the most intriguing essay was one in which Murakami discusses developing his style by writing his initial drafts in the foreign language of English which, at the time, he did not speak particularly well, then translating them into Japanese. He felt utilising a second language opened up his creativity in a way that Japanese could not. I am encouraged to try this approach out for myself!

Overall, I thought that Novelist As A Vocation would, as is perhaps to be expected, appeal most to dedicated Murakami fans. He does frequently invoke his various novels to illustrate the points he makes so already knowing them would have been beneficial! Aside from his writing though, Murakami has led an unusual life and I appreciated this opportunity to learn more about this generally private writer.

I'm always fascinated to learn about successful artists' and writers' journeys and creative processes. I've admired Haruki Murakami for a while, so this book was extra fun to read. His fiction is known for using simple sentence structures, and the essays in this book about his career as a novelist follow this way of writing. He offers his own experience, all the while sharing his history (a treat, as he's notoriously shy of the public) and underlining that his story is his own - and may or may not apply to others. The few times he does dip into 'universal' language are, I think, the most inspirational parts of the book - the feeling of being in flow or 'in the zone'; overcoming obstacles, including one's own self-doubt; and the joy of producing some work that reflects you as an artist, regardless of what critics or others have to say. If you're a writer (and maybe even if you're not) you'll enjoy this very much.