Haruki Murakami on writing

In a surprise public appearance at a literary event in Fukushima last week, he likened the solitary act of writing to cooking one of his favourite foods, deep-fried oysters.

His wife can’t stand the dish, so he has no choice but to cook and eat them alone, he told the audience.

“I am lonely, but they are delicious,” he added. “Like the relationship between solitude and freedom, it moves in an endless cycle. Picking out single words that are contained within me is also a solitary act so [writing novels] is similar to eating fried oysters by myself.

When my mind grows pressured when I think that I am writing a novel, I feel more relaxed when I think that I am only frying oysters.”

Writer and long distance runner, author of amongst others, Norwegian Wood, and What I talk about when I talk about running.