Wednesday 31 May 2017

Murakami, Haruki "Kafka on the Shore"


Murakami, Haruki "Kafka on the Shore" (Japanese: 海辺のカフカ Umibe no Kafuka) - 2004

I had no idea this book was kind of a fantasy or at least magic realism story. I have no idea what I thought but I certainly didn't expect this kind of story. Maybe someone reading a book by Kafka during their holidays or something.

Anyway, the protagonist calls himself Kafka. He runs away from home in order to get away from everything and starts a new life in a library. Quite interesting so far. Then there is this old guy who seems to have been involved in a weird military "accident" as a child and he can talk to cats. Also, there is a way from one life into another and back. All pretty weird. Still, an interesting read, an interesting story, you can try to analyze the different characters, all of whom have different kind of goals in their lives, well, they don't exactly have a goal but they all seem to follow their own pattern in going through life.

As I said, a weird book but quite enjoyable.

From the back cover:

"The opening pages of a Haruki Murakami novel can be like the view out an airplane window onto tarmac. But at some point between page three and fifteen - it's page thirteen in Kafka On The Shore - the deceptively placid narrative lifts off, and you find yourself breaking through clouds at a tilt, no longer certain where the plane is headed or if the laws of flight even apply. 

Joining the rich literature of runaways, Kafka On The Shore follows the solitary, self-disciplined schoolboy Kafka Tamura as he hops a bus from Tokyo to the randomly chosen town of Takamatsu, reminding himself at each step that he has to be 'the world's toughest fifteen-year-old.' He finds a secluded private library in which to spend his days - continuing his impressive self-education - and is befriended by a clerk and the mysteriously remote head librarian, Miss Saeki, whom he fantasizes may be his long-lost mother. Meanwhile, in a second, wilder narrative spiral, an elderly Tokyo man named Nakata veers from his calm routine by murdering a stranger. An unforgettable character, beautifully delineated by Murakami, Nakata can speak with cats but cannot read or write, nor explain the forces drawing him toward Takamatsu and the other characters."

6 comments:

  1. This was my first Murakami and I loved it so much!

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    1. It's my son's girlfriend's favourite Murakami, as well. I hare only read Norwegian Wood before and must say I prefer that one. But he surely is an interesting author.

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  2. I've never read Murakami, but he is my daughter's favorite author and she's always encouraging to dip my toes in and try him.

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    1. I think young girls like him, as I said above ^^, my son's girlfriend loves him, too. I d prefer Norwegian Wood to this one, though.

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  3. Murakami grows on you - you never forget his stories, no matter what you think of them!

    Thanks for stopping by - I like that I read & reviewed this almost a year to the date from you :-)

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    1. I always love reading your reviews just don't get to commenting much but I just had to do it this time. So, you're welcome and likewise, thanks for visiting my blog, as well.

      Murakami might have an unorthodox way of writing - for us Westerners - but I really like what I know so far. The only other novel I read is Norwegian Wood. I'm sure I will find more of his novels that are worth reading.

      Always a pleasue talking to you.
      Marianne

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