Name: Kafka on the Shore
Rating: 4.079942857142857 (875 reviews)
ISBN: 9781400079278

Haruki Murakami

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.

Kafka on the Shore

Alina

Beatrix

kira black 

Katherine

sanedarling

I like the way he writes but the plot... 😦

Elda Mengisto

I was interested in this book for a while--as it is one of Murakami's signature works, it had to be a must-read. I read his 1Q84 a few years ago and found it a bit dull, but intriguing. Going into this one, I expected some surrealist elements, but in a different angle. The book focuses on Kafka Tamura, who ran away from his family and resides in a library. However, he finds himself within dreams and meeting the spirit of Miss Saeki, who has an interesting past of her own. At the same time, told from the third person, we have Nakata's tale: an old man who could talk to cats, but is illiterate and his life changed due to a spirit shift. The different perspectives were quite interesting yet curious to get into; however, they didn't hinder enjoyment of the story. In Kafka's POV, I see him transitioning through his life in the library, going through the secrets along the way. While I see his relationships with the other characters, the arc seems to pause out a bit, and I find myself confused about his character development. Even though Crow assures he has changed in the end, I'm not sure how he had. On the other hand, Miss Saeki's story was more powerful. I was moved about her heartbreaking romance with a boy when she was younger. How she appeared before Kafka as a ghost of her fifteen year old self and had sex with him was even more curious, though I was never sure about their relationship. As for Nakata's story, it was quite curious, especially when we meet his partner-in-crime when trying to find the entrance stone. The part where he kills Johnnie Walker was quite macabre, even though the latter's actions were even more so. I find myself a bit endeared, yet annoyed, about how he goes that he's not very bright--why couldn't he relearn to read and write? Overall, I enjoyed the book; with its mix of cultural references, surrealism, and memory, I got drawn into the story, even though some of it didn't make sense. It clearly shows why Murakami is a great author; I look forward to more. (8/10)

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 ageing Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his highly simplified life suddenly overturned. Their parallel odysseys - as mysterious to them as they are to the reader - are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Fish tumble in storms from the sky; cats carry on conversations with people; a ghostlike if familiar pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a brutal murder, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle. Yet this, as all else, is eventually resolved, even as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually unravelled.

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.

ahh just finished reading my first murakami, something i have really wanted to. i don't necessarily know if i love? the book, the plot. But there were definitely so many impactful dialogues b/w the characters. The way they all approach the life in their own individual ways, was interesting. I got indulged in the world of subconsciousness and all that felt real to a certain extent. I was a bit disappointed about how women in general were mentioned in entire book, objects men could desire and throw away when they want? it was disturbing. 

All in all, there were many things to learn from the life of characters. The book has its own gaps, complications but that's what makes everything unique i guess.

meem

ahh just finished reading my first murakami, something i have really wanted to. i don't necessarily know if i love? the book, the plot. But there were definitely so many impactful dialogues b/w the characters. The way they all approach the life in their own individual ways, was interesting. I got indulged in the world of subconsciousness and all that felt real to a certain extent. I was a bit disappointed about how women in general were mentioned in entire book, objects men could desire and throw away when they want? it was disturbing. 

All in all, there were many things to learn from the life of characters. The book has its own gaps, complications but that's what makes everything unique i guess.

Kafka Tamaru reisst an seinem 15. Geburtstag von zuhause aus. Er trifft eine geheimnisvolle Bibliothekarin, in die er sich unsterblich verliebt und einen alten Mann, der die Sprache der Katzen versteht. Wo endet diese Reise voller rätselhafter Begegnungen?

Roman

Kafka am Strand

Dieses Buch ist zu lang und hat mich gelangweilt, aber dennoch wollte ich wissen, was am Ende passiert. Ich dachte, ich würde es mögen, da ich zuvor 

 handelt von einem fünfzehnjährigen Jungen, der von zu Hause abhaut, genauer gesagt vor der Prophezeiung seines Vaters flieht. Wir begleiten ihn, aber auch einen alten Mann namens Nakata sowie dessen Begleiter Hoshino auf ihrer Reise. Die Geschichte ist durchzogen von Übernatürlichem und Geheimnisvollem.

Nicht alles, was geschieht, ergibt Sinn. Viele Details wurden beschrieben, die meiner Meinung nach unnötig sind. Ich habe mich durch die 600 Seiten gequält. Am Ende blieben so viele Fragen offen, was ich aber bereits erwartet hatte.

Wäre das Buch atmosphärisch gewesen oder der Schreibstil besonders, hätte meine Bewertung anders ausgesehen. Aber beides war leider nicht der Fall.

Zainab 

Dieses Buch ist zu lang und hat mich gelangweilt, aber dennoch wollte ich wissen, was am Ende passiert. Ich dachte, ich würde es mögen, da ich zuvor Der farblose Herr Tazaki von Murakami sehr genossen habe.

Kafka am Strand handelt von einem fünfzehnjährigen Jungen, der von zu Hause abhaut, genauer gesagt vor der Prophezeiung seines Vaters flieht. Wir begleiten ihn, aber auch einen alten Mann namens Nakata sowie dessen Begleiter Hoshino auf ihrer Reise. Die Geschichte ist durchzogen von Übernatürlichem und Geheimnisvollem.

Nicht alles, was geschieht, ergibt Sinn. Viele Details wurden beschrieben, die meiner Meinung nach unnötig sind. Ich habe mich durch die 600 Seiten gequält. Am Ende blieben so viele Fragen offen, was ich aber bereits erwartet hatte.

Wäre das Buch atmosphärisch gewesen oder der Schreibstil besonders, hätte meine Bewertung anders ausgesehen. Aber beides war leider nicht der Fall.



Had a hard time to finished this 😮‍💨  

خير

First Murakami book - took me ages to read - honestly did not get the hype and found it hard to get into. still so confused about so many things and very grossed out by the way he talks about women and his weird obsession with incest… still willing to give his other books a try but was honestly very disappointed by this one 

I found it challenging to give the book a perfect rating due to my mixed feelings.  It's truly the most amazing book I've read this month, although certain parts were slightly bothersome. (This aspect makes it difficult for me to fully embrace Murakami's works, a sentiment I believe many share.)  The connection of the plot and my subsequent research into its meaning were incredibly captivating.  Murakami's storytelling is undoubtedly mesmerizing.

div. ☆

bener-bener buku yang paling bikin begah sama imajinasi sendiri! linglung di dalem labirin imajinasi yang dibikin buat connecting layer dimensi si kucing + satoru dan dimensi kafka, this books has me buying too much time to understand what's going on, bahkan detail tkp pembunuhan di dalemnya! overall interesting plot to approach! was my first time deep dive into murakami's work

𝖘𝖜4𝖓𝖊𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖜𝖆𝖓

هرچقدر هم که از خلاقیت و قلم آقای موراکامی لذت ببرم، ناتوانی وی در نوشتن یک شخصیت زن که مستقل باشد و فقط از لحاظ نیاز جنسی وابسته به کاراکتر های مذکر نباشد، من را عذاب میدهد. به غیر از آن و چندین بخش کاملا بی ربط که برای شاخ و برگ دادن متن ذکر کرده بودند، داستان بسیار جذابی است که تا مدت ها در یاد میماند.    

حنا

The use of interviews and the second story to drive the story forward revealing things that happen in the first story was an nice approach. As it's has elements of fantasy, there are quite a few moments where things happen and you just have to go with it. The author introduces plot threads that are intriguing, but ends up not obligated to close them out or explain them due to the nature of the book, which I personally didn't like. 

The book has quite a few slow parts where you feel like you're reading the same sentences over and over again, but overall, the dream-like nature of the story makes it a good experience. I especially liked Hoshino. 

Anthony Teo

The use of interviews and the second story to drive the story forward revealing things that happen in the first story was an nice approach. As it's has elements of fantasy, there are quite a few moments where things happen and you just have to go with it. The author introduces plot threads that are intriguing, but ends up not obligated to close them out or explain them due to the nature of the book, which I personally didn't like. 

The book has quite a few slow parts where you feel like you're reading the same sentences over and over again, but overall, the dream-like nature of the story makes it a good experience. I especially liked Hoshino. 

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

Madii

5/5!! It's my first time reading a book of Haruki Murakami. It was a crazy long ride and I loved every second of it. I have a lot I wanted to say while reading this, but now that I've finished it, I'm at a loss for words. It's like I need to take a deep breath, stare into space, and let the story sink in. It's a breath of fresh air from my usual romance fantasy books and I think it helped me open up to try reading other genres as well. There's so much going on. Anyway, I'm going to recommend this.

I look forward to reading more of Harki Murakami's books.

A teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom.

Maureen

"I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of—that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging." -Oshima

The story is unlike anything I've ever read before. If books can take us to new places, then Murakami most definitely takes us to outer space. (lol) 

Everything's so bizarre, but the worldbuilding was crafted so well that it made enough sense. Bonus: lots of great quotes too!

I'll be honest, this is the first Murakami book that I just could not finish, and that feels like saying something because I've read a lot, including all of 1Q84.

I just found this book too long and too slow moving. The first half I was pretty invested, I was liking the use of interview and newspaper articles to move the narrative forward, I really loved the talking cats scenes with Nakata, the fish falling from the sky, I love Murakami's magical realism. Then about halfway through it just sort of died. We got no more of the fun whimsical stuff and just got lots of wandering around and not a lot of forward movement, and I just found myself dreading picking the book back up, it sparked no interest or joy or desire to know how the book ended. I stopped with 100 pages left, because I couldn't bare spending another precious moment of my weekend reading a boring book.

I also just could not suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy reading ANY of the scenes with Kafka and Miss Saeki sleeping together, the ick was just too much. If Kafka had been older than 15 I could have tolerated it but I just can't read sex scenes involving kids, it's too weird and off-putting to me. 

Emma Lechner

I'll be honest, this is the first Murakami book that I just could not finish, and that feels like saying something because I've read a lot, including all of 1Q84.

I just found this book too long and too slow moving. The first half I was pretty invested, I was liking the use of interview and newspaper articles to move the narrative forward, I really loved the talking cats scenes with Nakata, the fish falling from the sky, I love Murakami's magical realism. Then about halfway through it just sort of died. We got no more of the fun whimsical stuff and just got lots of wandering around and not a lot of forward movement, and I just found myself dreading picking the book back up, it sparked no interest or joy or desire to know how the book ended. I stopped with 100 pages left, because I couldn't bare spending another precious moment of my weekend reading a boring book.

I also just could not suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy reading ANY of the scenes with Kafka and Miss Saeki sleeping together, the ick was just too much. If Kafka had been older than 15 I could have tolerated it but I just can't read sex scenes involving kids, it's too weird and off-putting to me. 



Jameila

This book was pretty different for me since it was the firsg Marukami book i’ve read, i really liked it though & would recommend it to people :]

fareez

Vince Hilahan

need time to find what I made of this but I wanna give kafka a hug.

lala

So... I didn't think I would like this book that much. I am not a Murakami fan maybe because my initial impressions of him, that is, through a little reading of IQ84 was not impressive. I was finally convinced to read Norwegian Wood and began to see why people like Murakami so much. Someone told me that NW is the most realistic writing of Murakami whilst the others usually have some magical elements to it, and that Kafka is the most abstract one. Honestly I was surprised when I find that I enjoy Kafka more than NW. I find myself caring for the characters through it's relatively thick book at around 600 pages. The whole book is like two stories converging beautifully into one. Although it doesn't necessarily connect directly, you can feel the puzzle pieces starting to come together. Although by the end of the reading I couldn't really care about the titular character, Kafka, I care deeply about Nakata and I could sympathize, empathized with the character as Murakami put it. Some parts of it also remind me of Oedipus Rex (if you read Kafka you'll get what I mean) and I somehow enjoy that part a lot. I would recommend this to someone who likes reading slow paced book. I started reading it during my journey back from Japan and finished it almost a week after, so you need patience and persistence in reading it I guess.

read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down. magical realism at its finest.

with that being said, im still recovering from this book

sneha

read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down. magical realism at its finest.

with that being said, im still recovering from this book

I love how Murakami let us embark the world through his works; one of it is Kafka on the Shore. The explanation written in detail drowns me as I read every sentence of it. Specifically when it comes to Kafka who wanders around the forest; it feels dreamy and fresh. Also when it shows how magical library is. On the other hand, there is Nakata - way older than the fifteen Kafka, who has the capability to talk with cats but not able to read.

The book is divided into two different perspectives; thru the odd numbers, we will meet Kafka who ran away from home; and the even numbers, we will meet Nakata who become the victim and witness how cruel the war is. Mind you there are also a lot of other characters around them and better keep it on mind because some of them would be beyond your imaginaton. 

I found it interesting as I noticed the trivia stories of "Kafka on the Shore" and its relation to the plot. Well, you may enter a new world with full of questions after reading it. Just like me. 

aulia vidia sasmitaratri

I love how Murakami let us embark the world through his works; one of it is Kafka on the Shore. The explanation written in detail drowns me as I read every sentence of it. Specifically when it comes to Kafka who wanders around the forest; it feels dreamy and fresh. Also when it shows how magical library is. On the other hand, there is Nakata - way older than the fifteen Kafka, who has the capability to talk with cats but not able to read.

The book is divided into two different perspectives; thru the odd numbers, we will meet Kafka who ran away from home; and the even numbers, we will meet Nakata who become the victim and witness how cruel the war is. Mind you there are also a lot of other characters around them and better keep it on mind because some of them would be beyond your imaginaton. 

I found it interesting as I noticed the trivia stories of "Kafka on the Shore" and its relation to the plot. Well, you may enter a new world with full of questions after reading it. Just like me. 

Sofia Kim

I believe that a good book does not abandon its reader the minute the reader read the last word on its last page. It encourages discussion and even puzzles, urging the reader to search for answers. This is what happened to me after reading this book. It absolutely gets your mind working, trying to figure out what Haruki Murakami is trying to say, and what the literature is has spoken with me. I might just be reading too much into it but it is definitely insightful.

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.

海辺のカフカ

Marz 

Ah it took me awhile to finish this but I enjoyed this book immensely. This was my first proper Murakami book and it certainly won't be my last.

Haikal Satria

Somewhere between magic and reality, there falls Kafka on the Shore.

Playing out like a Greek tragedy, the story tiptoes on the bounds of sanity and morality. But what is magnificent is how it manages to capture your attention all throughout its twists and turns. Murakami is a spectacular writer, not because of his ability for grandiose pieces, but rather because of his subtlety and how he treats even the most mythical storylines as if it was just another day in the neighborhood.

Kafka on the Shore

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