Run with the Wind

Crisp, detailed writing makes readers feel like they’re living in the run-down apartments with Kakeru and the rest of the team at Chikusei-so. A group of 10 students, brought together by cheap rent, forge a friendship and bond only recognizable by those who have been on a team that achieved the unachievable. Haiji, their leader and senior student, all but tricks the entire house of true underdogs and non-runners into training for Hakone Ekiden, a 10-part long distance race where spots are usually reserved for elite collegiate runners. Readers who have completed long-distance races will enjoy the way the characters learn that running isn’t about speed but the journey, which is a cliché metaphor all readers can get behind. Much of the story is written beautifully and offers insights into cultural and geographical Japan that readers may not have experienced before in books. However, though readers will become immersed in the 10-part race and will get to know Japan’s geography better than any virtual tour could offer, some may feel the hefty length of this book matches the long-distance race it centers around.