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Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love
The international literary icon opens his eclectic closet: Here are photographs of Murakami's extensive and personal T-shirt collection, accompanied by essays that reveal a side of the writer rarely seen by the public.
Considered the world's most popular cult novelist (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami has written books that have galvanized millions around the world. Many of his fans know about his 10,000-vinyl-record collection, and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a more intimate, and perhaps more unique, passion: his T-shirt-collecting habit.
In Murakami T, the famously reclusive novelist shows us his T-shirts--including gems from the Springsteen on Broadway show in NYC, to the Beach Boys concert in Honolulu, to the shirt that inspired the beloved short story Tony Takitani. Accompanied by short, frank essays that have been translated into English for the first time, these photographs reveal much about Murakami's multifaceted and wonderfully eccentric persona.
Considered the world's most popular cult novelist (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami has written books that have galvanized millions around the world. Many of his fans know about his 10,000-vinyl-record collection, and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a more intimate, and perhaps more unique, passion: his T-shirt-collecting habit.
In Murakami T, the famously reclusive novelist shows us his T-shirts--including gems from the Springsteen on Broadway show in NYC, to the Beach Boys concert in Honolulu, to the shirt that inspired the beloved short story Tony Takitani. Accompanied by short, frank essays that have been translated into English for the first time, these photographs reveal much about Murakami's multifaceted and wonderfully eccentric persona.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2020
About the author
Haruki Murakami
567 books122k followersMurakami Haruki (Japanese: 村上 春樹) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. His work has been described as 'easily accessible, yet profoundly complex'. He can be located on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/harukimuraka...
Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often distinguished from other Japanese writers by his Western influences.
Murakami studied drama at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he met his wife, Yoko. His first job was at a record store, which is where one of his main characters, Toru Watanabe in Norwegian Wood, works. Shortly before finishing his studies, Murakami opened the coffeehouse 'Peter Cat' which was a jazz bar in the evening in Kokubunji, Tokyo with his wife.
Many of his novels have themes and titles that invoke classical music, such as the three books making up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: The Thieving Magpie (after Rossini's opera), Bird as Prophet (after a piano piece by Robert Schumann usually known in English as The Prophet Bird), and The Bird-Catcher (a character in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute). Some of his novels take their titles from songs: Dance, Dance, Dance (after The Dells' song, although it is widely thought it was titled after the Beach Boys tune), Norwegian Wood (after The Beatles' song) and South of the Border, West of the Sun (the first part being the title of a song by Nat King Cole).
Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often distinguished from other Japanese writers by his Western influences.
Murakami studied drama at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he met his wife, Yoko. His first job was at a record store, which is where one of his main characters, Toru Watanabe in Norwegian Wood, works. Shortly before finishing his studies, Murakami opened the coffeehouse 'Peter Cat' which was a jazz bar in the evening in Kokubunji, Tokyo with his wife.
Many of his novels have themes and titles that invoke classical music, such as the three books making up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: The Thieving Magpie (after Rossini's opera), Bird as Prophet (after a piano piece by Robert Schumann usually known in English as The Prophet Bird), and The Bird-Catcher (a character in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute). Some of his novels take their titles from songs: Dance, Dance, Dance (after The Dells' song, although it is widely thought it was titled after the Beach Boys tune), Norwegian Wood (after The Beatles' song) and South of the Border, West of the Sun (the first part being the title of a song by Nat King Cole).
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August 20, 2024
My favorite part about this book is simply that it exists and it is objectively kind of funny that someone was like “hey, what if we just put out a $25 book of Murakami talking about t-shirts?” The funniest part is myself and other people were like “hell yea, I will read that,” and I realize all the years of people making the joke that they’d literally read their favorite author’s grocery lists has gotten publishers to think “well shit, maybe…” You know you’ve achieved hall of fame author status when someone asks you for essays about your t-shirts and then it gets translated and sold just in time for the holidays but, honestly, Murakami truly is a great choice for something like this because he is so mild mannered and charming in these essays where you can detect a hint of him being surprised he’s getting to talk at such length about his t-shirts. Which he definitely loves, there is an adorable warmth here and he has clearly given this a lot of thought. The book divides the t-shirts up into categories to give a bit of flow to his random musings and Murakami just seems to enjoy having this space to talk about how his t-shirt collecting hobby intermixes with his life and personality. While this is probably only of interest to avid Murakami fans—and a bit of a surprisingly topic when essays about his LP collection seemed more the choice I would think we’d get a book one—it is a cute little coffee table book that allows you to spend some time with the famous Japanese author beyond the subjects you’d normally expect from him.
What I enjoy most about Murakami is that he can find magic in anything. There are plenty of charming little anecdotes about his habits and hobbies, such as restaurants he enjoys or his dedication to running (which he talks about at length in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a book I’d recommend above this one if you want more engagement with his writing career) and music fandom. The photography in here is fun, with these old shirts hung artistically like some sort of ad campaign, though I do wish they had opted for photos of Murakami wearing them instead. At least the one he says was gifted to him by Paul Theroux that has the profile of the former US president and says 'Donald eres un pendejo'. There is a rather amusing thread where he owns a lot of shirts where he doesn’t really know what they mean and has slight anxiety someone might randomly yell at him for them. He also muses about how whenever he isn’t sure of a word he googles it to discover there is always a band by that name. There are some fun quirks in here, but nothing too revelatory. I like to think someone somewhere will pull some quotes for their PhD study on Murakami though and it’s just kind of cool that this exists. It seems publishers will pump out anything from Murakami they can translate, and thats alright because I'll probably read them all. Why not?
What I enjoy most about Murakami is that he can find magic in anything. There are plenty of charming little anecdotes about his habits and hobbies, such as restaurants he enjoys or his dedication to running (which he talks about at length in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a book I’d recommend above this one if you want more engagement with his writing career) and music fandom. The photography in here is fun, with these old shirts hung artistically like some sort of ad campaign, though I do wish they had opted for photos of Murakami wearing them instead. At least the one he says was gifted to him by Paul Theroux that has the profile of the former US president and says 'Donald eres un pendejo'. There is a rather amusing thread where he owns a lot of shirts where he doesn’t really know what they mean and has slight anxiety someone might randomly yell at him for them. He also muses about how whenever he isn’t sure of a word he googles it to discover there is always a band by that name. There are some fun quirks in here, but nothing too revelatory. I like to think someone somewhere will pull some quotes for their PhD study on Murakami though and it’s just kind of cool that this exists. It seems publishers will pump out anything from Murakami they can translate, and thats alright because I'll probably read them all. Why not?
February 28, 2022
is it weird that this is the first book i've read from Murakami ? yes, very. i know.
December 6, 2021
Haruki Murakami wrote a series of short essays about his t-shirt collection for the Japanese men’s fashion magazine, Popeye, over the course of a year and a half and these are all collected here in Blatant Stocking Stuffer For The Murakami Fan In Your Family Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love.
The t-shirts are grouped thematically so there’s a bunch on food, booze, cars, books, superheroes, animals, and marathons he’s competed in (see his other non-fiction book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, for more information on that hobby).
The shirts fans and publishers have made of his books are actually kinda cool (though he never wears them - they remain untouched in a box somewhere in his house) but generally the shirts themselves are quite ordinary. If you’re picking this book up, you’re doing so entirely for the essays rather than the accompanying photos of mostly thrift store shirts.
Although maybe it’s fitting that the t-shirts themselves are unimpressive given that the essays too are quite forgettable. They’re easy to read and well-written, but for the most part they’re a series of underwhelming pieces. The only one that stood out is the t-shirt with “Tony Takitani” printed on it which inspired the short story, and subsequent film adaptation, of the same name (published in the collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman).
In his preface, Murakami also mentions collecting LPs and pencil stubs(!) so we can probably await books on those to be forthcoming too if Murakami T is any indication. It’s a quirky idea for a book that’s also very Murakami-esque, but Murakami T is definitely only something fans will bother with - though even to those I would say not to expect anything amazing from this short book.
The t-shirts are grouped thematically so there’s a bunch on food, booze, cars, books, superheroes, animals, and marathons he’s competed in (see his other non-fiction book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, for more information on that hobby).
The shirts fans and publishers have made of his books are actually kinda cool (though he never wears them - they remain untouched in a box somewhere in his house) but generally the shirts themselves are quite ordinary. If you’re picking this book up, you’re doing so entirely for the essays rather than the accompanying photos of mostly thrift store shirts.
Although maybe it’s fitting that the t-shirts themselves are unimpressive given that the essays too are quite forgettable. They’re easy to read and well-written, but for the most part they’re a series of underwhelming pieces. The only one that stood out is the t-shirt with “Tony Takitani” printed on it which inspired the short story, and subsequent film adaptation, of the same name (published in the collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman).
In his preface, Murakami also mentions collecting LPs and pencil stubs(!) so we can probably await books on those to be forthcoming too if Murakami T is any indication. It’s a quirky idea for a book that’s also very Murakami-esque, but Murakami T is definitely only something fans will bother with - though even to those I would say not to expect anything amazing from this short book.
April 15, 2023
বিশেষ কিছু নাই।মুরাকামির লেখা মিস দেই না বলে পড়ে ফেললাম। বিষয়বস্তু তো নামেই প্রকাশিত - লেখকের সংগ্রহের টি-শার্ট। একটা ঘটনায় বিশেষ আনন্দ পেয়েছি। এক প্রকাশকের সাথে এক হোটেলে দেখা করতে গেছেন মুরাকামি, শর্টস পরে। সেই হোটেলে আবার শর্টস পরে ঢোকা নিষেধ। প্রকাশক বেচারার তো মাথায় হাত। মুরাকামি বললেন, কোনো সমস্যা নাই। তিনি তার ব্যাগে থাকা ফুলপ্যান্ট বের করে সবার সামনেই শর্টসের ওপর পরে ফেললেন। ব্যাপার দেখে সবার চক্ষু চড়কগাছ ;এদিকে পড়ে আমারও। মুরাকামির গম্ভীর ভাবমূর্তির সাথে এ ঘটনা যায় না। তার চরিত্রের নতুন এই হাস্যমুখর দিক জানাই বইটা থেকে বিশেষ প্রাপ্তি।
(একজন লেখক কতোবড় "ব্র্যান্ড" হলে তার সংগ্রহের টি-শার্ট নিয়ে সাড়ম্বরে বই বের হয় ভাবা যায়?!)
(একজন লেখক কতোবড় "ব্র্যান্ড" হলে তার সংগ্রহের টি-শার্ট নিয়ে সাড়ম্বরে বই বের হয় ভাবা যায়?!)
August 2, 2023
Obrzydliwy skok na kasę czytelników, którego jedynym pozytywem jest okładka. Niby wydawca nie ukrywa niczego przed czytelnikiem: Murakami opowiada o swoich ulubionych podkoszulkach, właściwie jest to zbiór „felietonów” stworzonych dla czasopisma Popaye. Znając Japończyka, nietrudno się domyślić, że nie są to jakieś designerskie koszulki od Versacego, czy innego Dolcze albo Karla, bardziej takie, które można znaleźć w lumpie przy Dmowskiego w Gdańsku i bardzo dobrze, gorzej, że za tymi koszulkami (oprócz jednej) nie stoi żadna historia, żadna nie prowadzi (z wyjątkiem tej jednej) do jakiejś głębszej, błyskotliwej myśli, czy historii, ot mamy koszulkę z logiem piwa Guinness i Murakami pisze: lubię piwo Guinness, jak byłem w Irlandii, to tam było bardzo dużo piwa Guinness i ono mi bardzo smakowało, koniec. Wyjątkiem jest pierwsza z opisanych koszulek, która sprowokowała autora do napisania opowiadania i tyle, a wszystko to na niecałych dwustu stronach (no dobra na końcu jest jeszcze drętwy wywiad z dziennikarzem magazyny Popaye, taki Japoński Playboy bez gołych bab z tego co zrozumiałem). Szkoda czasu i pieniędzy.
December 31, 2021
A collection of articles and interviews on Murakami's T-shirt collection. Now if that isn't fitting. I actually bought three Japanse Pro Baseball T-shirts in 2021 after reading his short story The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection, I went out and bought a couple Japanese baseball T-shirts, just for the hell of it. Now I feel like I'm trapped in a Murakami fever dream. Not really. The book was good, just not great Murakami. Feels like one of those books a publisher will put out: "Hey, look ... if we collected all of these interviews and pieced in this and that, we could have another book that would sell at least 100k globally...". I'm a Murakami completist, so of course I'm going to read (look at it), but this is the part of the Murakami marathon when your calf starts cramping AFTER the real race is over.
December 4, 2021
Murakami T : The T-shirts I Love is a book which if you're a Haruki Murakami fan like me should have on their shelves. It's a very small book of around 100 pages or so, of some of the most interesting t-shirts which murakami himself have hoarded.
He if fond of hoarding vinyl records and along with his collection of books, we get to see a very intimate as well as a different side of Murakami through this book.
I liked how we also get to read about the back story of each and every t-shirt compilation in this book. Be it a Volkswagen t-shirt or simply a ketchup / tobasco sauce t-shirt with Hamburg stories of US, I truly enjoyed reading this new perspective book from the author.
He if fond of hoarding vinyl records and along with his collection of books, we get to see a very intimate as well as a different side of Murakami through this book.
I liked how we also get to read about the back story of each and every t-shirt compilation in this book. Be it a Volkswagen t-shirt or simply a ketchup / tobasco sauce t-shirt with Hamburg stories of US, I truly enjoyed reading this new perspective book from the author.
June 18, 2024
I began by pretending this was a short novel about a t-shirt and vinyl-record-obsessed old guy, who happened to also be an obscenely successful novelist and it worked for the most part in the sense that I enjoyed reading these table scraps of autobiographical reminiscences from the most influential Japanese author ever.
Just learning more about this celebrity's everyday, even boring, existence, was still fascinating in the way gossip webpages and home invasion footage is. Is it wrong that I want to rifle through Murakami's closet and thumb through his record collection? Stalkerish fans are one thing Murakami has in spades, and it is quite generous of him to release this enticing expose to fend off their frothing hordes. But it also appears a tad exploitative. At this point, I will keep reading the translations they spoon feed us of this author because I can't stop now.
The tactics he employs as a novelist have been discussed to death, but the agony uncle side of him, the uncaring, sloppy, endearing, and well-intentioned side of him, remains absurdly interesting out of all proportion to what he is writing about, which has long since ceased to matter, since all we want is more Murakami, more Murakami, more Murakami.
It's weird how everyone has all but forgotten Ryu Murakami, and we haven't seen a new translation of him in years, and they are clearly holding back a bunch of Haruki's early stories and nonfiction writing to trickle through the translation pipeline after his creativity dries up - But maybe he'll go on, like Philip K. Dick's android or Hokusai, producing mesmerizing works into his nineties and hundreds, and most of his fans will finally discover other pleasures, having finally read Absolutely on Music and realized the depth of their paramour's insanity.
Just learning more about this celebrity's everyday, even boring, existence, was still fascinating in the way gossip webpages and home invasion footage is. Is it wrong that I want to rifle through Murakami's closet and thumb through his record collection? Stalkerish fans are one thing Murakami has in spades, and it is quite generous of him to release this enticing expose to fend off their frothing hordes. But it also appears a tad exploitative. At this point, I will keep reading the translations they spoon feed us of this author because I can't stop now.
The tactics he employs as a novelist have been discussed to death, but the agony uncle side of him, the uncaring, sloppy, endearing, and well-intentioned side of him, remains absurdly interesting out of all proportion to what he is writing about, which has long since ceased to matter, since all we want is more Murakami, more Murakami, more Murakami.
It's weird how everyone has all but forgotten Ryu Murakami, and we haven't seen a new translation of him in years, and they are clearly holding back a bunch of Haruki's early stories and nonfiction writing to trickle through the translation pipeline after his creativity dries up - But maybe he'll go on, like Philip K. Dick's android or Hokusai, producing mesmerizing works into his nineties and hundreds, and most of his fans will finally discover other pleasures, having finally read Absolutely on Music and realized the depth of their paramour's insanity.
August 29, 2023
মুরাকামির টি শার্ট কালেকশন নিয়ে এক ইন্টারভিউয়ে বলা কথাবার্তাই বই আকারে ছাপানো হয়েছে। তা আবার বাংলায় অনূদিতও হয়েছে। বইয়ের যা ভালো লেগেছে তা হচ্ছে প্রোডাকশন চমৎকার।
প্রথমবারের মতো বাতিঘর বাংলামোটর শাখায় গিয়েছিলাম। বই দেখতে দেখতে এটা হাতে এলো, তাই সুযোগ পেয়ে পড়ে দেখা। বইটা আসলে মুরাকামির ভক্তকূলের জন্য। আমি যেহেতু মুরাকামির কোনো বই (নভেল) এখন পর্যন্ত পড়িনি তাই এই বই আমার কাছে তেমন ভালো লাগেনি, আদপে পছন্দ হওয়ার মতোও তেমন কিছু নয় যদি না পাঠক মুরাকামি প্রেমী হয়ে থাকেন।
(অনেকদিন ধরেই মুরাকামি পড়ার ইচ্ছা, আফটার ডার্ক দিয়ে শু���ু করার ইচ্ছা। এর কারণ বাংলায় অনূদিত বইখানার সুন্দর প্রচ্ছদ)
২৯ আগস্ট, ২০২৩
প্রথমবারের মতো বাতিঘর বাংলামোটর শাখায় গিয়েছিলাম। বই দেখতে দেখতে এটা হাতে এলো, তাই সুযোগ পেয়ে পড়ে দেখা। বইটা আসলে মুরাকামির ভক্তকূলের জন্য। আমি যেহেতু মুরাকামির কোনো বই (নভেল) এখন পর্যন্ত পড়িনি তাই এই বই আমার কাছে তেমন ভালো লাগেনি, আদপে পছন্দ হওয়ার মতোও তেমন কিছু নয় যদি না পাঠক মুরাকামি প্রেমী হয়ে থাকেন।
(অনেকদিন ধরেই মুরাকামি পড়ার ইচ্ছা, আফটার ডার্ক দিয়ে শু���ু করার ইচ্ছা। এর কারণ বাংলায় অনূদিত বইখানার সুন্দর প্রচ্ছদ)
২৯ আগস্ট, ২০২৩
Want to read
October 1, 2021This sounds delightfully quirky and wholesome
July 26, 2021
Haruki Murakami has certainly been keeping his translators busy this year. First, he published the very good short-story collection First Person Singular, and, later this fall, he’ll be publishing in English a rather slim volume of autobiography about his T-shirt collection, of all things. That book is called Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love and features photos and essays of more than 100 T-shirts in his massive collection — some that he never wears and keeps inside boxes. The short essays first appeared in the Japanese men's fashion magazine Popeye not too long ago, and this book also features a couple of interviews Murakami did for the same magazine around the time that the photos and essays were published, just to pad things out a little bit. (I found that the interview section did repeat some information found in the essays, so I’m not entirely sure why it’s there in this book or was even included in the magazine to begin with, except that, in the case of the former, it slightly lengthens a very short book.)
Murakami T is a slim volume, so slim that you can read it in less than an hour. It is the length of a couple of magazine pieces, so I’m not sure why it is getting a standalone book when this sort of thing might have been more easily published and be much more digestible as, say, a New Yorker article. While the book sort of works as a bit of autobiographical writing, it is not very revealing. The most revealing piece of information is that the author buys a lot of his T-shirts at thrift shops, such as those offered by Goodwill or the Salvation Army. The other piece of information that’s interesting is that Murakami doesn’t wear a lot of these shirts. After all, some of the T-shirts he receives are from his publishers around the world who send him promotional items based on his work. It turns out that the author is a bit of a private man, and doesn’t like to be recognized in public, so he has to wear clothing that is as inconspicuous as possible. However, it seems that he also doesn’t like to throw out stuff — he cops to mentioning in this collection that he keeps all his pencil stubs, even when they’re so short that they can’t be used in a pencil sharpener. Thus, Murakami is a packrat. That I didn’t know. (He also has a collection of vinyl records, mostly jazz, numbering in the tens of thousands, so if I ever visit Japan, I know whose home I’m going to break into to steal stuff from. That’s a joke. I love jazz on vinyl.)
Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-re...
Murakami T is a slim volume, so slim that you can read it in less than an hour. It is the length of a couple of magazine pieces, so I’m not sure why it is getting a standalone book when this sort of thing might have been more easily published and be much more digestible as, say, a New Yorker article. While the book sort of works as a bit of autobiographical writing, it is not very revealing. The most revealing piece of information is that the author buys a lot of his T-shirts at thrift shops, such as those offered by Goodwill or the Salvation Army. The other piece of information that’s interesting is that Murakami doesn’t wear a lot of these shirts. After all, some of the T-shirts he receives are from his publishers around the world who send him promotional items based on his work. It turns out that the author is a bit of a private man, and doesn’t like to be recognized in public, so he has to wear clothing that is as inconspicuous as possible. However, it seems that he also doesn’t like to throw out stuff — he cops to mentioning in this collection that he keeps all his pencil stubs, even when they’re so short that they can’t be used in a pencil sharpener. Thus, Murakami is a packrat. That I didn’t know. (He also has a collection of vinyl records, mostly jazz, numbering in the tens of thousands, so if I ever visit Japan, I know whose home I’m going to break into to steal stuff from. That’s a joke. I love jazz on vinyl.)
Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-re...
November 7, 2023
When you spend as much time reading as I do, some authors acquire a mantle of divinity. After all, you are in communication with that person for the length of time you spend reading them, and for me, Murakami has attained that quality. Which is why I hold books such as this one and the conversations held with Seiji Ozawa in such high regard in that they reveal the man behind the image. I feel the more you know about an author, the better equipped you are to appreciate their work. Here Murakami has emptied his Tshirt drawer, and has rearranged them in categories, with snippets of information about favored items, their provenance, and about Murakami himself. Famously camera shy in Japan, he is able to travel around, visit cafes and bookstores and ride subways unrecognized, and since I read somewhere this is a deliberate choice on his behalf, I wasn't surprised to learn that there are entire categories of shirts he won't wear as they will attract attention. He does comment at one point that he is more recognized in bookstores in America, where his face is familiar.
May 29, 2023
7/10
Kocham Murakamiego, więc jak dla mnie mógłby pisać nawet o swoich ulubionych koszulkach, a mi by się podobało. Oh, wait🤭
Tylko dla miłośników jego twórczości🤗
Kocham Murakamiego, więc jak dla mnie mógłby pisać nawet o swoich ulubionych koszulkach, a mi by się podobało. Oh, wait🤭
Tylko dla miłośników jego twórczości🤗
May 12, 2023
Kocham to, że ta książka powstała, samo to jest zabawne i urocze. A koszulowe felietony naprawdę świetne, cudownie się czytało! Najbardziej wzrusza mnie ta z Tony'm Takitanim 🥹
May 3, 2024
یه حس شوخ طبعی توی کتاب هست که دوستش دارم،موراکامی توی کتاب راجع به تی شرت های مورد علاقش میگه و اینکه هر کدوم رو از کجا خریده!شاید از نظر نوع نوشتاری با بقیه کارهای موراکامی متفاوت باشه ولی من این تفاوت رو دوست داشتم یه جور لحن صمیمی و خودمونی داشت
January 9, 2022
This is just endearing...such a great way to write something personal via shirts collected and documented over many years...remembering certain events and stories in life.
Loved this little book! ❤
Loved this little book! ❤
January 17, 2022
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦: 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦..."
Welcome to the other side of Murakami's world; no fictional characters whatsoever, just Murakami and a closet of his personal T-shirts collection with a writing series spotlighting those collection-- short and light, uniquely told, bit quirky and so chilled!
Consists of 18 short essays which once published in 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘺𝘦, a Japanese men's fashion magazine, these writings featured few random things associated with his T-shirts like food and booze, animals, music, superheroes or even a muse like how he found Tony Takitani at a thrift shop and wondering about who the heck is Tony Takitani that he ended up writing a fictional story about him.
It feels so delightful to read his stories and how each T-shirt bringing a memorable fragment to his life-- a record hunting day, a thrift shop encounters, walking into an event, launching a book, running a marathon, meeting a friend, a beach visit, surfing or movies outing; these are all a story living in a piece of his T-shirt. Might be underwhelming to few and the collection pretty ordinary too, but being a fan to the novelist, this was such an endearing read to me.
Few memorable T-shirts and stories that I love--
1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle's T-shirt that he gets from a reader who was inspired to create it after reading the novel
2. "Record Stores Are A Blast" story about his record stores hunting, jazz music and all those vinyl shirt designs
3. One of the running T-shirt during Murakami triathlon that he gets a lot of people asking; "So, Mr. Murakami, you're sponsoring a marathon now?"
4. "A Book, Anyone?" story that revolves around reading and bookstores
5. "Keep Calm and Read Murakami" story on T-shirts related to his books; of his book launch and about his publisher (love both the Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood shirts)
Love that it also includes a bunch of his T-shirts (that Kafka on the Shore!) that didn't make it for an essay together with a series of his interviews at the back!
(I wonder if he'll ever write something about his stubs of pencils collection, I would love to read that too)
"𝘛-𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."
Huge thanks to Pansing (Definitely Books) for this gifted copy!
Welcome to the other side of Murakami's world; no fictional characters whatsoever, just Murakami and a closet of his personal T-shirts collection with a writing series spotlighting those collection-- short and light, uniquely told, bit quirky and so chilled!
Consists of 18 short essays which once published in 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘺𝘦, a Japanese men's fashion magazine, these writings featured few random things associated with his T-shirts like food and booze, animals, music, superheroes or even a muse like how he found Tony Takitani at a thrift shop and wondering about who the heck is Tony Takitani that he ended up writing a fictional story about him.
It feels so delightful to read his stories and how each T-shirt bringing a memorable fragment to his life-- a record hunting day, a thrift shop encounters, walking into an event, launching a book, running a marathon, meeting a friend, a beach visit, surfing or movies outing; these are all a story living in a piece of his T-shirt. Might be underwhelming to few and the collection pretty ordinary too, but being a fan to the novelist, this was such an endearing read to me.
Few memorable T-shirts and stories that I love--
1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle's T-shirt that he gets from a reader who was inspired to create it after reading the novel
2. "Record Stores Are A Blast" story about his record stores hunting, jazz music and all those vinyl shirt designs
3. One of the running T-shirt during Murakami triathlon that he gets a lot of people asking; "So, Mr. Murakami, you're sponsoring a marathon now?"
4. "A Book, Anyone?" story that revolves around reading and bookstores
5. "Keep Calm and Read Murakami" story on T-shirts related to his books; of his book launch and about his publisher (love both the Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood shirts)
Love that it also includes a bunch of his T-shirts (that Kafka on the Shore!) that didn't make it for an essay together with a series of his interviews at the back!
(I wonder if he'll ever write something about his stubs of pencils collection, I would love to read that too)
"𝘛-𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."
Huge thanks to Pansing (Definitely Books) for this gifted copy!
May 10, 2024
Hab ich länger als eine Stunde gebraucht? Wenn ja, dann nicht viel. 188 Seiten, mindestens die Hälfte davon Photos von T-Shirts.
5 🌟… was sonst, sorry Murakami ist eine Ausnahme bei mir, natürlich verdient das Buch nach literarischen Gesichtspunkten keinen 🌟 die Texte sind mehr oder weniger Interviews im Plauderton und von keinem tieferen Erkenntnisgewinn.
Ungefähr 99,9% aller Menschen, die ich kenne, würde ich dieses Buch nicht empfehlen, eigentlich ist es, wenn überhaupt, nur etwas für eingefleischte Murakami Liebhaber, die sich zwischen dem Lesen seiner Romane ein wenig die Zeit mit was Seichtem vertreiben wollen. Es erinnert an Promi-Homestorys oder Radiosendungen mit verheißungsvollen Titeln wie “Frühstück mit …” oder “Zu Gast bei …”.
Immerhin erfährt man, dass ihn ein T-Shirt, das er in einem Second-Hand-Laden erstanden hat, zu einer Kurzgeschichte inspiriert hat, Tony Takitani.
Struktur: Er erzählt zu jedem der abgebildeten 108 T-Shirts ein paar Zeilen, wie es erworben wurde (meist bei der Heilsarmee) und warum er es mag, warum er es tragen oder - wie die meisten seiner textilen Errungenschaften - nicht tragen kann (weil er nicht auffallen will). Die T-Shirts werden in Kategorien vorgestellt: Sport, Surfer, Uni, Literatur, Bären, Autos, Whiskey, Musik, Konzerte…
Alles in allem harmlos aber bunt und irgendwie ganz nett nach dem Motto „zeige mir deine T-Shirts und ich sage dir wer du bist“.
5 🌟… was sonst, sorry Murakami ist eine Ausnahme bei mir, natürlich verdient das Buch nach literarischen Gesichtspunkten keinen 🌟 die Texte sind mehr oder weniger Interviews im Plauderton und von keinem tieferen Erkenntnisgewinn.
Ungefähr 99,9% aller Menschen, die ich kenne, würde ich dieses Buch nicht empfehlen, eigentlich ist es, wenn überhaupt, nur etwas für eingefleischte Murakami Liebhaber, die sich zwischen dem Lesen seiner Romane ein wenig die Zeit mit was Seichtem vertreiben wollen. Es erinnert an Promi-Homestorys oder Radiosendungen mit verheißungsvollen Titeln wie “Frühstück mit …” oder “Zu Gast bei …”.
Immerhin erfährt man, dass ihn ein T-Shirt, das er in einem Second-Hand-Laden erstanden hat, zu einer Kurzgeschichte inspiriert hat, Tony Takitani.
Struktur: Er erzählt zu jedem der abgebildeten 108 T-Shirts ein paar Zeilen, wie es erworben wurde (meist bei der Heilsarmee) und warum er es mag, warum er es tragen oder - wie die meisten seiner textilen Errungenschaften - nicht tragen kann (weil er nicht auffallen will). Die T-Shirts werden in Kategorien vorgestellt: Sport, Surfer, Uni, Literatur, Bären, Autos, Whiskey, Musik, Konzerte…
Alles in allem harmlos aber bunt und irgendwie ganz nett nach dem Motto „zeige mir deine T-Shirts und ich sage dir wer du bist“.
December 9, 2021
i really like reading his perspective on things. be it about his t-shirt collection, the most mundane things, his life, etc etc. but this one is definitely a book that only murakami fans would be able to somehow enjoy adding this to their collection, besides that its pretty regular. literally the definition of no thoughts, just vibes
the essays were nothing special but its cool to see him talk about his collection of tshirts, vinyls and books. he seems like the type of person id chill with. i personally like his other non fiction "what i talk about when i talk about running" better
the essays were nothing special but its cool to see him talk about his collection of tshirts, vinyls and books. he seems like the type of person id chill with. i personally like his other non fiction "what i talk about when i talk about running" better
December 20, 2021
Tik užkietėjusiems Murakamio fanams.
Read
June 11, 2024imagine mieć takie nazwisko, że możesz wydać książkę o swoich ulubionych koszulkach... z drugiej strony, jeśli o większości z nich masz do napisania jedynie "kupiłem ją za dwa dolary, nigdy jej nie założyłem", to mam wrażenie, że te t-shirty wcale nie są ukochane, tylko randomowe
March 29, 2022
70+-year-old hipster collects tshirts and has firm rules about which ones he will wear in public.
Originally run in Popeye Magazine, the articles have been collected and printed in book format with two additional follow-up interviews at the end.
I am not a Murakami fan; I've struggled multiple times with The Strange Library and have never gotten very far. I did not enjoy 1Q84 and while I own Norwegian Wood, I have never cracked the spine and most likely never will.
That said, when I cataloged this little gem, I was immediately taken with Murakami's love of tshirts. The jazz thing, his record collection, his thoughts on whiskey are all as pretentious as you'd expect but his thoughts on tshirts are both odd and charming. For instance, he is attracted to shirts with cute animals on the front but can't wear them because then women and girls will compliment him on his cute shirt and not only does he not want the attention, he also does not want to be perceived as someone who intentionally wears cute shirts in order to get compliments from women and girls.
I was dying.
I kind of wish this guy were my neighbor. We could swap tshirts.
Originally run in Popeye Magazine, the articles have been collected and printed in book format with two additional follow-up interviews at the end.
I am not a Murakami fan; I've struggled multiple times with The Strange Library and have never gotten very far. I did not enjoy 1Q84 and while I own Norwegian Wood, I have never cracked the spine and most likely never will.
That said, when I cataloged this little gem, I was immediately taken with Murakami's love of tshirts. The jazz thing, his record collection, his thoughts on whiskey are all as pretentious as you'd expect but his thoughts on tshirts are both odd and charming. For instance, he is attracted to shirts with cute animals on the front but can't wear them because then women and girls will compliment him on his cute shirt and not only does he not want the attention, he also does not want to be perceived as someone who intentionally wears cute shirts in order to get compliments from women and girls.
I was dying.
I kind of wish this guy were my neighbor. We could swap tshirts.
December 13, 2021
I read once that for famous writers if they wrote their groceries list, their fans will purchase it to read! I always thought of this as a far-fetched joke until I found this new book in the bookstore! It came out of the blue, with the dear “Murakami” name on it, as I didn’t know it was about to be published and the cover, design , paper type , everything was begging me to buy it .. so I did!
No need to describe that I’m one of Murakami biggest fans, I’ve read almost everything he wrote either in Arabic or English translation except (The underground). Reading this book was like a cozy invitation to his magical world & Murakami himself has invited me to do the introduction and telling stories about each certain category .. I admire the writer & his unique style in life .. that somehow felt so intimate and I’m totally grateful for giving me this chance! I enjoyed the laughter as he has a very nice sense of humour, the places that I would like to visit some day, his curiosity & searching everything on Google to get advices due to culture or historical differences.
That was a delight read <3
No need to describe that I’m one of Murakami biggest fans, I’ve read almost everything he wrote either in Arabic or English translation except (The underground). Reading this book was like a cozy invitation to his magical world & Murakami himself has invited me to do the introduction and telling stories about each certain category .. I admire the writer & his unique style in life .. that somehow felt so intimate and I’m totally grateful for giving me this chance! I enjoyed the laughter as he has a very nice sense of humour, the places that I would like to visit some day, his curiosity & searching everything on Google to get advices due to culture or historical differences.
That was a delight read <3
June 9, 2022
I've only started reading him this year (and am only like 10% through his bibliography) but my love of Murakami has degenerated into this freakish parasocial farce where I have managed to delude myself we are besties and I am the only person in the world who has ever heard of his books, which I of course understand deeper and more intellectually than everyone else etc etc. When I first got this book from the library and was leafing through it I was so inspired that I immediately got onto Depop and begged a girl from Australia to do international shipping on the Dance Dance Dance shirt from his Uniqlo collection even though it's a men's size L and when it arrives it will be like a tent on me. Cheerful 3.5 because it's a dumb little book but I love it on principle and am tickled that he knows about what does the fox say
July 25, 2022
Ich bin unsicher, wie dieses schmale Büchlein zu bewerten ist. Der Autor ist Haruki Murakami und somit finde ich es von vornherein und sowieso gut. Allerdings erzählt er hier aber nur kurze Anekdoten zu einigen der T-Shirts aus seiner umfangreichen Sammlung, was zwar ganz nett, aber auch irgendwie belanglos ist und keinen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlässt.
August 11, 2023
টি শার্ট নিয়েও যে কেউ এরকম লিখতে পারে ধারণা ছিল না
অবশ্য বান্দা যখন মুরাকামি তখন সবই সম্ভব
অবশ্য বান্দা যখন মুরাকামি তখন সবই সম্ভব
January 9, 2023
I didn't expect much going into the book cause let's be real, the moment I heard its about his collection of t-shirts.... I'm here going ... okay?
But wow. I came out laughing and just cackling even towards the end of the book.
I love how REFRESHING this collection of essays are, and fact is, Murakami is just a funny uncle who likes to collect t-shirts and records as a hobby, whilst going for a beer in a jazz bar.
I love how we're diving into his life, and his stories from all around the world with the t-shirts that he owned. Goes to show how he values his things, and quite frankly, I can relate to some things as well. There is a sort of intimacy whilst going into someone's closet and choice of clothings, but I love how Murakami just went all in and talked about where and why he didn't wear his t-shirts. Whats exciting is how we get to somehow go an adventure with him as well, a trip to his past and his experience as a lecturer, as an author and even as a normal human as well.
Whether you're a fan of his works or not, this book will take you by surprise. It has that sort of surprise element that makes you smile at parts, really laughed out loud on notes at certain shirts that he owned and just generally, a wholesome read, one that lets you get inside the author's mind without it being too personal nor too cocky. Such a feel good book and I definitely enjoyed it!
4🌟 for this gem!
But wow. I came out laughing and just cackling even towards the end of the book.
I love how REFRESHING this collection of essays are, and fact is, Murakami is just a funny uncle who likes to collect t-shirts and records as a hobby, whilst going for a beer in a jazz bar.
I love how we're diving into his life, and his stories from all around the world with the t-shirts that he owned. Goes to show how he values his things, and quite frankly, I can relate to some things as well. There is a sort of intimacy whilst going into someone's closet and choice of clothings, but I love how Murakami just went all in and talked about where and why he didn't wear his t-shirts. Whats exciting is how we get to somehow go an adventure with him as well, a trip to his past and his experience as a lecturer, as an author and even as a normal human as well.
Whether you're a fan of his works or not, this book will take you by surprise. It has that sort of surprise element that makes you smile at parts, really laughed out loud on notes at certain shirts that he owned and just generally, a wholesome read, one that lets you get inside the author's mind without it being too personal nor too cocky. Such a feel good book and I definitely enjoyed it!
4🌟 for this gem!
August 3, 2023
মুরাকামির সংগৃহীত বিভিন্ন টি-শার্টের গল্প নিয়ে এই বাচ্চা মিষ্টি বই। মুরাকামির উপন্যাসের উপর ভিত্তি করে বানানো নোভেল্টি টি-শার্টগুলো তার সংগ্রহে অত্যধিক থাকলেও সেগুলো লেখক কোনোদিন পরেন নি।
বিয়ার, স্পোর্টস, গানের উপর ভিত্তি করে বানানো টি-শার্ট তিনি বেশি পছন্দ করেন। মুরাকামি তার সংগৃহীত একটা টি-শার্ট নিয়ে ছোটোগল্প লিখেছিলেন যেটা নিয়ে পরবর্তীতে মুভিও নির্মিত হয়।
মজার ব্যাপার হলো মুরাকামি কোনোসময় দামি টি-শার্ট কিনেননি। এখন অবধি মুরাকামির ১০টা উপন্যাস পড়ার সৌভাগ্য হয়েছে। এজন্য বইটা আমার জন্য বেশ উপভোগ্য ছিল।
৩ আগষ্ট, ২০২৩
বিয়ার, স্পোর্টস, গানের উপর ভিত্তি করে বানানো টি-শার্ট তিনি বেশি পছন্দ করেন। মুরাকামি তার সংগৃহীত একটা টি-শার্ট নিয়ে ছোটোগল্প লিখেছিলেন যেটা নিয়ে পরবর্তীতে মুভিও নির্মিত হয়।
মজার ব্যাপার হলো মুরাকামি কোনোসময় দামি টি-শার্ট কিনেননি। এখন অবধি মুরাকামির ১০টা উপন্যাস পড়ার সৌভাগ্য হয়েছে। এজন্য বইটা আমার জন্য বেশ উপভোগ্য ছিল।
৩ আগষ্ট, ২০২৩
March 6, 2022
Murakami T is not significant or earth-shattering in any sense. He shows the readers his t-shirts collection - from a shirt that inspired “Tony Takitani” to shirts with cute animal design that he feel a little uncomfortable to wear; from shirts with the names of colleges on them to shirts that relate to books and reading; and from whiskey-themed shirt to the shirts he got after completing his running marathons. In the words of Murakami himself: “I doubt that this collection will be that useful to anyone, much less being of any help in solving any of the myriad problems we face at present.”
However, I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It is effortlessly charming and delightful. You really get a sense of his character and who he is as a person through this collection. He is a fascinating person with diverse hobbies and interests; has a modest outlook on life and an effortless sense of humor (help, he is so funny). I also admire how deliberate he is with everything he collects, whether it’s his vinyl records or his t-shirts collection. All in all, I highly recommend this to anyone who appreciates Murakami. Even if you are not a Murakami fan or never read any of his work, I believe you will be charmed by this book.
Many thanks to Times Reads and Pansing Distribution for these gorgeous review copies in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate them very much.
However, I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It is effortlessly charming and delightful. You really get a sense of his character and who he is as a person through this collection. He is a fascinating person with diverse hobbies and interests; has a modest outlook on life and an effortless sense of humor (help, he is so funny). I also admire how deliberate he is with everything he collects, whether it’s his vinyl records or his t-shirts collection. All in all, I highly recommend this to anyone who appreciates Murakami. Even if you are not a Murakami fan or never read any of his work, I believe you will be charmed by this book.
Many thanks to Times Reads and Pansing Distribution for these gorgeous review copies in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate them very much.
December 27, 2021
The Aesthetics of T-shirts
Review of the Knopf hardcover (November 2021) translated by Philip Gabriel from the Japanese language original 村上T 僕の愛したTシャツたち (June 2020)
Photograph of one of Murakami’s favourite T-shirts, which became the source inspiration for his “Tony Takitani” short story. Image sourced from World News
This is light diversionary reading but it may also make you realize what your own qualifications are for which T-shirts you'll actually wear as opposed to those you keep as souvenirs or memorabilia. Aside from his well known collection of jazz LPs, Murakami is also quite the collector of T-shirts, most of which he doesn't wear but instead stores away in file boxes. As you can imagine, many of these are ones that he is given as take-aways from book signings or readings and/or marathon runs (one of his other obsessions c.f. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running ).
The more interesting ones are those he has found for 99 cents or so in thrift shops and charity stores. At least one of those, the pictured one of candidate Tony Takitani's failed run for House Democrat in Hawai'i was even the inspiration for a short story. Murakami did not know what House (D) meant at the time of purchase.
Trivia and Link
The T-shirt inspired short story “Tony Takitani” by Haruki Murakami appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which you can read here, April 15, 2002.
Review of the Knopf hardcover (November 2021) translated by Philip Gabriel from the Japanese language original 村上T 僕の愛したTシャツたち (June 2020)
Photograph of one of Murakami’s favourite T-shirts, which became the source inspiration for his “Tony Takitani” short story. Image sourced from World News
This is light diversionary reading but it may also make you realize what your own qualifications are for which T-shirts you'll actually wear as opposed to those you keep as souvenirs or memorabilia. Aside from his well known collection of jazz LPs, Murakami is also quite the collector of T-shirts, most of which he doesn't wear but instead stores away in file boxes. As you can imagine, many of these are ones that he is given as take-aways from book signings or readings and/or marathon runs (one of his other obsessions c.f. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running ).
The more interesting ones are those he has found for 99 cents or so in thrift shops and charity stores. At least one of those, the pictured one of candidate Tony Takitani's failed run for House Democrat in Hawai'i was even the inspiration for a short story. Murakami did not know what House (D) meant at the time of purchase.
Trivia and Link
The T-shirt inspired short story “Tony Takitani” by Haruki Murakami appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which you can read here, April 15, 2002.
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