Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love
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Average rating3.7
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.
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Not a lot of exceptional t-shirts, some okay essays, proof that I'll read anything by Murakami. I do envy him the REM t-shirts, though.
“With this many, I never have to worry about what to wear in the summer. I could wear a different one each day and never wear the same one twice. Nice being a writer sometimes, right?”
This was an unexpected library find, as I wasn't even aware something like this was coming out. I love Murakami books, I love off-the-wall book topics, and I love t-shirts. This seemed like it'd be a slam dunk. And, honestly, it was.
This is essentially an art book with commentary. Murakami turns out his closet for the benefit of the author, his favorite t-shirts were grouped by category, and we get a lot of musing essays about what he was thinking when he bought them, where he was at the time, and commentary about the topic in general. While mundane in approach (and I absolutely can understand why this book didn't click with some people), I really actually appreciated learning a bit more about Murakami through his t-shirt choices. Beyond the obvious “I like jazz” and “I like whiskey”, I got little nuggets like, Goodwill is his favorite place to shop for t-shirts, he loves a good burger when he travels to the US, and he's not overly fond of lizards. I sort of appreciate little things like that.
So, if you like Murakami, will you like this? I mean, maybe? A cautious maybe? If you like novelty books, t-shirts, and Murakami, definitely. If you're looking for more biographical info, author info, life lessons info, probably not.
I'm definitely going to be giving people at Goodwill the side-eye now. Just in case.
