Murakami T - by Haruki Murakami (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf"--Copyright page.

Book Synopsis

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.

Many of Haruki Murakami's fans know about his massive vinyl record collection (10,000 albums!) and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a more intimate passion: his T-shirt collecting.

In Murakami T, the famously reclusive novelist shows us his T-shirts--from concert shirts to never-worn whiskey-themed Ts, and from beloved bookstore swag to the shirt that inspired the iconic short story "Tony Takitani." These photographs are paired with short, frank essays that include Murakami's musings on the joy of drinking Guinness in local pubs across Ireland, the pleasure of eating a burger upon arrival in the United States, and Hawaiian surf culture in the 1980s.

Together, these photographs and reflections reveal much about Murakami's multifaceted and wonderfully eccentric persona.

Review Quotes

"Mr. Murakami takes readers through a sartorial journey, sharing memories and musings through the lens of the clothes he has accumulated over the years."--Anna P. Kambhampaty, The New York Times

"Murakami T: The T-shirts I Love, is part ode, part exhibit that reads with restrained affection for his accidental accumulations...The diaristic entries have the simplicity of a show-and-tell, with Murakami's spare prose offering a material history of his closet...Haruki Murakami's understated love letters to his T-shirts convey how we give life to our things and vice versa."--Charlene K. Lau, The Atlantic

"This lively peek into his collection provides some surprising insights into the humble, real Murakami...A playful, witty, nostalgic journey with an acclaimed novelist." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Murakami's charming, utterly self-effacing eccentricity--one of the hallmarks of his fiction--shines brightly here..." --Bill Ott, Booklist

"Murakami's many fans will eat up this charming ramble." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

HARUKI MURAKAMI was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award in 2016.