Kafka on the Shore

Interesting read

The style of the book reminded me a bit of Kurt Vonnegut's style. I read it within 3 days and I keep thinking about it. Although everything isn't answered in the story, I think it's enough to keep the reader more than satisfied (after all it makes the reader think about it more). It's so different from the other things I've been reading lately that I just find it refreshing and intriguing.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Murakami is one of our greatest living authors, and in my opinio

Murakami is one of our greatest living authors, and in my opinion this is his masterpiece. Kafka on the Shore is so beautiful and so surreal it will leave you haunted for days. The characters are so masterfully crafted that they will become a part of you. The existentialist themes are so profound that they will change you. This book is designed to make you think, and more importantly, to make you feel. And it does both those things, powerfully.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Walking a Tight Rope Between Real and Unreal

Escaping the bounds of reality seems so simple in this amazing book by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, one of today's most original and mind-bending writers. The translation from Japanese to English is absolutely stunning as the language is both vivid and detailed. Following the story of a 15-year old boy as he finds his way through the mysteries of life, Murakami crafts a story that jolts the reader from concrete feelings to far-fetched imagery. Let go of what you expect and know of the world and allow yourself to venture into this meandering tale full of surprising twists and turns. Murakami's greatest feat is his ability to make what is surely impossible seem so real and lifelike - from a man who can talk to cats, to strange characters who resemble familiar characters from modern day product marketing like Johnny Walker and Colonel Sanders. The tale is told in such a way as to suggest a dreamlike state where life isn't what you expect, and is much more vivid than we normally allow.

Not a love story, exactly. Not a coming of age parable, either. Not a thriller or mystery. And yet, it weaves together elements of all of these into one masterful piece of writing that will keep you glued to the pages. Set in modern-day Japan, the story is filled with contemporary references, making the situations seem entirely plausible. But as the plot twists and meanders, it is clear that what you are reading requires a suspension of reality and a willingness to take in the well-crafted writing as merely a different way to see things.

Kafka Tamura finds love and adventure as he fights to uncover the power of his father's oedipal prophecy. As he travels Japan as a runaway, he finds himself wondering if his path is chosen for him as fate, or if he is living a life of coincidence. While wondering, but not searching, for the mother who left him as a young child, his only sister gone with her, he discovers much more than he bargained for.

Having lived in Japan, the descriptions of the people and the places immediately drew me back to times spent in this friendly, yet oftentimes exotic locale. Reading Kafka on the Shore made Japan seem less foreign, and more strange at the same time. The language is compelling, even as it has been translated to English - a notable feat not generally achieved.

Murakami will be regarded as one of the world's most unique and creative fiction writers and Kafka on the Shore is the perfect example of all he brings to the written page.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful & Compelling

Kafka on the Shore left me breathless.

After years of an unnamed but horrific abuse, 15-year-old Kafka Tamura deliberately plans an escape from his father, a man so evil that he steals souls. As Kafka seeks both his fortune and answers to his past in the seemingly random city of Takamatsu, he finds refuge in the stacks of a library, becoming close friends with the assistant and fantasizing that the head librarian is his lost mother.

Though the magic realism of this novel begins right away - and is at times complex and also seemingly random - about a quarter of the way into the book the plot and characters burst into focus and harmony. The secondary plot (involving a mentally-damaged man who can talk to cats and is on his own quest) all of a sudden aligns with Kafka's life, and the entire story dramatically rises in a tornado of crazy events and emotions: murder, incest, and oedipal prophecy.

The ending of this story was so beautiful that I couldn't read for a full day afterward from the emotional hangover. I can't wait to read more Murakami.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Kafka on the Shore

Auther has a fantastic imagine thing he write it. His imagine so strange. But I did not stopped this book. I'm so curisity next page and next contents. I had interested Japanese novels about this book. This book is two people stories mixed them. It was funny and marvelous. I like this book and other Haruki's novels.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Luved It!

I was really taken deep into this book. Couldn't put it down. He is now one of my favorite authors.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My first Murakami and I'm addicted..

I loved this book. It was mysterious and insightful. It took me off guard on numerous occasions. Great read if you're looking to escape reality for a little while.

Murakami, enough said.

The book delves into a side of Sci-Fi that is not expected. Just as do the majority of his works. This is an earlier shorter novel that will needle away in your mind dragging you further into the story. He has a way with his story that engrosses, and since he translates himself, there is no mistaking what is meant. I highly recommend this book, but be rady to not want to lay it down!!!

My first Murakami

I love the Magical Realism of Marquez and Esquival, but this Japanese Surrealism takes a little more acclimation. I think it will grow on me, so giving 1Q84 a try now.

n odd, quirky little novel full of unforgettable characters.

Kafka Tamura is a young, 15-year-old boy who runs away from home. Nakata, is an older gentleman who became "simple" after falling into a coma along with sixteen other school children when he was younger. He also runs away from his home, but for entirely different reasons. Both encounter interesting characters along the way. There is no easy way to summarize this novel. After just a few pages, I began to wonder what Murakami was smoking when he wrote it. This book is WAY out there. There are talking cats, a pimp who dresses up like Colonel Sanders, a gay transgendered librarian, and a cat killer named Johnnie Walker. What first seemed like a disaster to me, turned into one of the most memorable reads of the year! This is my first experience with Murakami but I enjoyed his writing so much, that I am now in the process of reading all of his work. I have to caution you. This is not a book for everyone, but anyone in a reading rut will be jolted right out of it after reading it. Kafka on the Shore is thought-provoking and different, very different. It reminded me a lot of The Wizard of Oz because of all the people these two characters meet along the way. I absolutely loved it.

So confusing, way beyond my head!

All I can say is this book makes me feel incompetent. It is beautifully written, very poetic. The story is unique and appeals to your senses, but I honestly don't understand it. I thought it would be like the movie "Crash" where multiple stories tie into one big picture; what I read seemed like there were connecting points where people, situation, or senses overlapped among the different stories, but the confusing part was that each story never completely came together to be one big one. There were mutiple time periods, outter body experiences, etc. I would start to connect things and people only to doubt myself later. This definitely challenges your mind, but transcendentalism is my weak spot. Though I only have a vague idea and intrepretation of this book, I appreciate it. I just don't enjoy reading it.

Wow this was a real page turnner.

I have to say it's nice to read a book that offers a supernatural reality. I still find myself thinking about the book a month later

Not what I expected

I have read only one other Murakami book before this one and was expecting the vocabulary and actual writing style to be very intense, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. I feel like the book is written in plain, easy to understand english, but has a very strong meaning. The story was incredibly thought provoking since what it mainly talks about is the thin line between whats going on in your head vs. actual reality. Definitely left an impression on me.

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0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!!!

This is my favorite Murakami so far. I have read a few of his other books. Kafka on the Shore is really cohesive compared to some of his other stuff. It's a very whimsical novel.

Quirky story

This is a very, very unusual story, but involving, original and quirky - although found it a bit slow to get into. The plot evolves slowly and it takes a while to really understand what the book is about. Everything about this story is unusual and original - the plot is very, very surreal. The main elements of the plot are very ordinary - a teenager, a young man, a middle aged woman. However, each of the characters has their own issues and are very interesting. The plot involves ghosts, demons, spirits, etc, so it is very escapist or, as mentioned, surreal. The fact that it takes place in Japan increases the sense of originality as I (an American) read the book. It is enjoyable to read about the sites and historical stories from Japan Finally, the imagery is also very good.

Forceful

This was the first book I read from Murakami and I never looked back. A wonderful, dreamlike read, that stays with you. The characters come to alive with every sentence, and the story, just like the characters, is compelling, forceful and touches magic. I couldn`t put this book down, as is usually case with any Murakami novels I have read so far, which is such a rare treat. When I read his writings and Kafka on the Shore is a very good example of that, it is as if I saw the world turn through his eyes, and it more like a private conversation than anything else. It also gives you a feel for contemporary Japanese people, and how they think and act in everyday life, which is also great. I am sorry that I do not speak Japanese, because I would greatly appreciate reading his books in the original, which as I usually find, gives a very different feel to fiction - I am not sure if this is the case here, but would love to find out.
I recommend this book to all Murakami lovers and to those as well, who are first time visitors to his surreal, yet at the same time very down to earth world.

Spare yourself

This books was so hard to get into. I picked it up and put it down so many times I lost count. It was very hard to get into the characters. The writing was everywhere and very, very slow. I would not waste my time. A huge dissapointment. It received good reviews and I never saw why.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

I'm just not gettin it

150 pages in and I'm still not feeling it. While some of this book is interesting, the plot is still not clear.
Disconnected, confusing.
I'm reading it because of the reviews/acclaims and will be very disappointed if it continues. I based my purchase on the recommendation from Barnes & Noble.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

That was the fastest book to finish

The characters are very interesting , the story is really original especially in the last third of the book . Brilliant , want more to read from Murakami san .