Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophecy. The ageing Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his simple life suddenly turned upside down. Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle. At once a classic tale of quest, Kafka on the Shore is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos, of patricide, of mother-love, of sister-love. Above all it is a bewitching and wildly inventive novel from a master stylist.

Kafka on the Shore

海辺のカフカ

Beatrix

The massive bank of thunderclouds crossed the city at a lethargic pace, letting loose a flurry of lightning bolts as if probing every nook and cranny for a long-lost morality, eventually dwindling to a faint, angry echo from the eastern sky. 

Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.

But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of - that a certain type of perfection can only be realised through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.

An unlikely alliance forms between Kafka Tamura, a fifteen-year-old runaway, and the aging Nakata, a man who has never recovered from a wartime affliction, as they embark on a surreal odyssey through a strange, fantastical world.

Madhav Nadar G

"Mr. Hoshino?" Nakata said, breaking the silence. "The sea is a really nice thing, isn't it?"

"Probably 'cause it's so big, with nothing on it," Hoshino said, pointing. "You wouldn't feel so calm if there was a 7-Eleven over there, or a Seiyu department store, would you? 

Surfing's a more profound kind of sport than it looks. When you surf you learn not to fight the power of nature, even if it gets violent

Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down. As their parallel odysseys unravel, cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a ghost-like pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since World War II. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle - one of many which combine to create an elegant and dreamlike masterpiece. 'Wonderful... Magical and outlandish' Daily Mail 'Hypnotic, spellbinding' The Times 'Cool, fluent and addictive' Daily Telegraph

Alina

Kyle Curry

Maybe my new fav Murakami. Until I read the next one. 
Not much of a review, but some thoughts:
I have found myself really drawn into Murakami's surreal worlds, especially in light of everything that's happening in our all too real one. Not because they are a particularly nice escape, but because despite how totally bizarre they are, they are also incredibly familiar.
His characters encounter talking cats and spirit projections and then deal with them in seemingly normal ways. At first this struck me as odd and funny. But then I thought, well what else can you do? What else do I do when life erupts into chaos on a relatively normal Wednesday? I go on. And like his characters, sometimes by the next Wednesday things have settled back into their comfortable ways, and sometimes they have been profoundly changed.

karol tang

would’ve been four stars but murakami is horrible at writing women. if a man says that this is his favorite book you should run far and fast away. god this made me so angry and i don’t even think my standards for men are much higher than The Bare Minimum.

jess larry

This book felt like a fever dream. Surreal, weird at times, strangely addictive & beautiful. 
Reading it was definitely an amazing experience and I felt completely immersed. 

Murakami makes the unusual feel usual, irrationality feel rational. 

I had so many emotions after reading the last page, overwhelmed by the beauty of Murakami’s storytelling, its strangeness and that feeling of not having understood anything while having in fact understood. 

I’m getting some sort of melancholy, even sadness thinking back at it. Like I actually lived this very story and it has now come to an end. 

Definitely a great book.

Sofia Kopkášová

Benedict Neo

My first ever Murakami book. I was honestly really engrossed in it and addicted to reading it. Aside from the graphic scenes and weird oedipus curse thing, I loved the beautiful descriptions of the forest and the music and philosophy references. All in all an amazing read, can't wait to read the rest of his books.

Reihan Maulana

When I finished Kafka on the Shore I had mixed feelings,..

I was so confused because there were countless unresolved questions, but amidst it all, I realized how much I truly enjoyed reading the book. It felt like Murakami intended for us to delve deeper beyond the surface and uncover the metaphors hidden within the strange and random occurrences throughout the story.

felt like one long wild dream- loved how surreal and winding it was at times. Some descriptions of the women/sex completely pulled me out of it as I was reading but I’m glad I made it all the way through. My first ever Murakami.

Annie Millman

Anushka Saha

Enjoyable when you choose to ignore parts involving women. Musical references add to its charm. In its best moments it's whimsical and magical.

This book makes me feel like I fell asleep and woke up in someone else’s dream. 5 stars for talking cats

Rebecca Lum

Traci Wilbanks

This is the second Murakami book that I've read. His writing style is easy, and his characters are interesting. This story is odd and unpredictable. Like "The Wind-up Bird Chronicles", there is a bit of the supernatural in this story. I liked the parallel narratives and the many layers and levels of metaphors. Not all questions were answered, and there were several loose ends, which is probably another of Murakami's metaphors about life. I simultaneously feel attached and detached from the story at the same time. I can't quite describe it, which is in itself compelling.

Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down. Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a ghostlike pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle. Murakami's new novel is at once a classic tale of quest, but it is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos, of patricide, of mother-love, of sister-love. Above all it is an entertainment of a very high order.

I wish I had tabbed this book, but I’m also really glad I was just swept up with the story. 

Kelly Macquire

altlovesbooks

"For a fifteen-year-old who doesn't even shave yet, you're sure carrying a lot of baggage around."

That basically sums up my feelings for this book. I love Murakami's writing style and so it didn't bother me much that not a lot happens in this book, but I still couldn't help absolutely agreeing with Oshima when he says this about the main character. It's definitely a thinking book, as is most of Murakami's stuff, but I enjoyed it in all its mind-bending strangeness.

Jenny Vuu

His novels are so strange yet unique. My second read of his works and again i'm slightly creeped out by some parts but at the same time so intrigued and immersed into what happens next in the story.

Maybe Murakami shouldn't be allowed to write women.............

I think the writing of this book was good and overall it's a well-crafted book and interesting storyline. However, there were a couple of things that bothered me so much I couldn't look past them and enjoy the rest of the book. 

The main one is the way Murakami writes women. There's not a single female character in this book that isn't sexualised or has sex with someone else. (view spoiler)[ I thought the 50-year-old lady was safe but no, she has sex with the 15 (!!!) year old protagonist - which is the point where I decided enough was enough and after 400 pages, I stopped reading the book. Not cool, Murakami....  (hide spoiler)] And there's not a single female character whose boob size isn't commented on. 

A quick search of 'Murakami sexism' on Google made me discover that this is sadly a wildly held opinion. Mieko Kawakami even brought this up in an interview with Haruki Murakami and she summarised the issue better than I could:

 [Murakami's] work is boundlessly imaginative when it comes to plots, to wells, and to men, but the same can’t be said for their relationships with women. It’s not possible for these women to exist on their own. And while female protagonists, or even supporting characters, may enjoy a moderate degree of self-expression, thanks to their relative independence, there’s a persistent tendency for women to be sacrificed for the sake of the male leads. 

Overall, the sexist undertones of nearly all the male characters in this book were too much. If you look past the gory, gross or disturbing elements of the book, the story itself is interesting, but the blatant sexism can't be that easily overlooked.

Well it was certainly weird. I loved how layered in it. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. There are certainly some questionable acts in the books which made me question why I was reading such stuff but it was worth it. Oshima and Hoshino were my favourite characters, I looked forward to seeing them in scenes. The ending was somehow very calming. There were many things I didn't understand, lots a metaphors, at points I thought maybe I'm just too dumb but I enjoyed it anyway. Kinda wanna reread it already 

Nans

CLAUDIA VALDES

Reading this book was a constant confusion through and through. Disturbing acts of sex, weird interactions between characters, every page was something unearthly. However, once you finish and you move past the fact that you finally finished, the essence of the book starts to set. And you realize everything Murakami was trying to portray. This is a quintessential novel about identity, imagination, destiny and life. 

I don’t want to go too deep into it because I don’t know where to start. But go into this book with an open-mind. Read the trigger warnings and when you’re done, watch an analysis video on Youtube.

Niki Sotiropoulou-Nassika

Rosamund Mather

My last Murakami experience wasn't great. But this just confirmed I am at the end of my tether with him, which is a shame. I'm fed up of the repetitive, emotionless writing style. I'm even more fed up of the shitty female characters. And this one is meant to be one of his best...

I have one more book of his on my Kindle, so I guess I will give him one more chance.

Utkarsh

ramya v 

Nouf Fallatah 

loved it even though there are a lot of miseries unsolved

Trish D

I couldn’t handle the pointless aspects of some characters. Boring?

Charlotte Dann

This took a downward turn for me about half way through, I feel like the flagrant Murakami style was a double-edged sword. I made a video explaining my opinions, commonly known as a 'review'.

Sarthak Verma

TL;DR: It's a must-read.

I am spellbound! I have completed it, and I don't know what to think and what to do next. While reading it, I never wanted it to get completed. It felt like an extension of my world. Its ending is like someone went away from my life as soon as it got over, and I don't know if they will ever come back.
Like most people, even I don't want to know how and why certain things happened the way they happened. What was the meaning of them all? Murakami wrote it in a way that you will never know what happened. 
You will think about those bizarre things on a random afternoon.

Kafka on the Shore

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