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Kafka on the Shore

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'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami is a surreal and fantastical tale that intertwines the stories of a 15-year-old boy named Kafka and an elderly man named Nakata. The narrative weaves between Kafka's journey of self-discovery and Nakata's mystical quest, incorporating elements of magical realism such as talking cats, fish raining from the sky, and encounters with enigmatic characters like Colonel Sanders and Johnnie Walker. The book explores themes of adolescence, identity, and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy, all presented in Murakami's signature minimalist writing style that creates a haunting and compelling world for the characters to navigate.

The novel is a complex and layered narrative that delves into the characters' inner turmoil and existential questions, inviting readers to ponder deeper meanings and metaphors embedded within the text. Murakami's storytelling unfolds through multiple storylines that converge in mysterious ways, offering a blend of myth, imagery, and philosophy that keeps readers engaged and questioning the boundaries of the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Characters:

The characters are complex and engaging, including Kafka Tamura, a 15-year-old boy with an Oedipal curse, and Nakata, an elderly man with unique abilities, supported by intriguing side characters.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by simple yet lyrical prose that captures a surreal atmosphere, with descriptive elements that create vivid imagery and incorporate philosophical dialogues.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features a surreal coming-of-age narrative intertwined with Oedipal themes, focusing on two main characters: Kafka Tamura, a teenage runaway, and Nakata, an elderly man who can converse with cats.

Setting:

The setting spans various locations in Japan, including a mystical library that symbolizes knowledge and safety, blending reality with fantasy.

Pacing:

Pacing varies; it starts slow but becomes more engaging as the story unfolds, with interwoven narratives that add balance, though some parts feel lagging.
Cash isn't the only thing I take from my father's study when I leave home. I take a small, old gold lighter—I like the design and feel of it—and a folding knife with a really sharp blade. Made to skin...

Notes:

Kafka on the Shore is written by Haruki Murakami, a widely popular author, especially among young readers worldwide.
Murakami has won numerous awards for his literature, including the World Fantasy Award in 2006 for Kafka on the Shore.
The book blends various genres, including fantasy, mystery, psychological themes, and elements of Greek tragedy.
Kafka Tamura, the protagonist, runs away from home to escape his father's Oedipal prophecy.
Nakata, the other main character, has the ability to communicate with cats but is mentally challenged due to a childhood incident during WWII.
The novel contains surreal elements, such as rainstorms of fish and leeches and the presence of characters like Colonel Sanders and Johnny Walker.
Murakami intended the book to be read multiple times to fully grasp its meaning, as it contains many riddles without direct solutions.
Characters in the book often engage in philosophical dialogues about life, existence, and identity.
Despite its dark themes, including violence and incest, the book is highly regarded for its lyrical writing style and imaginative storytelling.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers include animal cruelty, graphic violence, sexual content, incest, and themes of trauma.

Has Romance?

While there are romantic elements, particularly involving Kafka, the novel primarily explores deeper existential and psychological themes.

From The Publisher:

Kafka on the Shore displays one of the world's great storytellers at the peak of his powers.

Here we meet a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who is on the run, and Nakata, an aging simpleton who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey.

Ratings (163)

Incredible (39)
Loved It (68)
Liked It (27)
It Was OK (18)
Did Not Like (8)
Hated It (3)

Reader Stats (363):

Read It (162)
Currently Reading (4)
Want To Read (154)
Did Not Finish (7)
Not Interested (36)

5 comment(s)

It Was OK
6 days

Out of the six books I've read by Haruki Murakami only one was 4 stars and this was sadly not a winner. Don't think his writing is quite for me. Know he's well beloved and got many raving reviews but I just can't get invested and love his writing. It's strange but not my type of strange unfortunately

 
It Was OK
1 week

Wish I could give this a 3.5, took me about 58% of the book to start getting into it, very weird writing style that didn't flow as well as I would have liked but interesting to have 3/4 stories going on at the same time that sort of were interconnected.

 
It Was OK
3 months

It is my first Murakami Book.

Well...The story is woven between the reality and illusions.

Kafta is a 15 year old boy, who runs away from home. He runs away not only from his father but also from his father's prophecy which says he will kill his father and will sleep with his mother and sister. But kafta doesn't remember much about them as they both ran away when he was four. After running away, he finds shelter at Komura Private Library and with the help of librarian Oshima, tries to find a meaning in his life or of whatever was happening around him.

Along with kafta's story, there is Nakata who in his childhood went to coma after seeing flashes of light in sky. And when he woke up he had no memory, but has a strange ability to talk to the cats.

This book obviously left me wondering, pondering and bewildered as it took a wild and unimaginative twist , when I felt that "Oh , this must be this, well I am understanding this, not bad". Haruki Murakami's stories definitely is not for explanations, but has a strange way to keep the reader bound to the book.

 
Did Not Like
4 months

I believe this book was referenced by Adam Savage, so I put it on my to-read list. The idea of reading a translation of a Japanese surrealistic adventure appealed to me so I started into the book with fairly high hopes. The story and characters all kept my attention, but the constant sexual content seemed rather juvenile on the whole and completely unnecessary in certain instances. I know the whole Oedipal sub story is there but was it really a key subplot on which the whole story depended? Several gender-bending characters and situations; I have to admit the scene where the female character who identifies as a gay man taking on two feminist SJWs in a logical jousting battle almost made suffering through the aforementioned sexual content worthwhile. The book ends with several loose ends unanswered, whether as an opening for a sequel or intentional vagueness for the reader to decide I'm unsure.

 
It Was OK
4 months

I... my head hurts.

This book, while it was never quite dry, never impressed upon me the stakes of it's... plot? Whatever you call what transpired.

Perhaps this was due to the boring protagonist - Kafka.

Maybe the amount of absurdity separated me from investing.

Maybe it was the weird parallel to the tragedy of Oedipus.

I'm not sure.

The book is clearly written as a metaphor. The symbolism is heavy-handed, the dialogue is ridiculous, and while I enjoyed most of the characters (particularly Nakata and Hoshino and their delightful relationship), the main protagonist Kafka was entirely forgettable and surprisingly arc-less.

While the dialogue was ridiculous, I still found it intriguing. Oshima in particular spits out pages of profundity at the drop of a hat. But, while each mini-essay offered something to think upon, it also completely removed me from the flow of the narrative. This can sometimes be a problem with heavy-handed metaphor. It might say something profound, but the impact is mitigated by its sacrifice of 'story' for the sake of 'message.' I found this to be the case often in this book.

The book has a lot to say about the concept of fate or destiny, Our primary figures are swept up and surrender to the river of predetermination. But while Nakata is made human and relatable through this sense of being driven towards something bigger, Kafka is the opposite: operating as a purely passive caricature of a person. He starts off too competent and ends as a kid who has traumatized to the point of finally cracking a smile.

I am sorry for the scattered nature of this review. I'm just not sure what to do with this book. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

 

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…

 
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