Book Review: Kafka on the Shore By Haruki Murakami

Prakhyath Rai November 28, 2019 No Comments

Blurb:

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 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.

Review:

Review of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

” π‘Œπ‘œπ‘’ 𝑠𝑖𝑑 π‘Žπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘™π‘‘,
𝐼 π‘Žπ‘š 𝑖𝑛 π‘Ž π‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑠 π‘›π‘œ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’.
π‘Šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘  π‘€π‘–π‘‘β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘™π‘’π‘‘π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ 
π‘†π‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘–π‘›π‘” 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘œπ‘€ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘œπ‘Ÿ.

π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘œπ‘œπ‘› π‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘’π‘  π‘‘π‘œπ‘€π‘› π‘œπ‘› π‘Ž 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘™π‘–π‘§π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘,
𝐿𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 π‘“π‘–π‘ β„Ž π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘› π‘‘π‘œπ‘€π‘› π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ π‘˜π‘¦.
𝑂𝑒𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘œπ‘€ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘ π‘œπ‘™π‘‘π‘–π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ ,
𝑠𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘šπ‘ π‘’π‘™π‘£π‘’π‘  π‘‘π‘œ 𝑑𝑖𝑒.

(π‘…π‘’π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘›)

πΎπ‘Žπ‘“π‘˜π‘Ž 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 π‘Ž π‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘–π‘Ÿ 𝑏𝑦 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’,
π‘‡β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘š π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘šπ‘œπ‘£π‘’π‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘™π‘‘,
𝑖𝑑 π‘ π‘’π‘’π‘šπ‘ .
π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ β„Žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑠 π‘π‘™π‘œπ‘ π‘’π‘‘,
π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘œπ‘€ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘›π‘šπ‘œπ‘£π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘†π‘β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘₯,
π΅π‘’π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘  π‘Ž π‘˜π‘›π‘–π‘“π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘π‘–π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘π‘’π‘  π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘šπ‘ .

π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘€π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘”π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘™’𝑠 π‘“π‘–π‘›π‘”π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ 
π‘†π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘β„Ž π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘’ π‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘›π‘’, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’.
𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ β„Žπ‘’π‘š π‘œπ‘“ β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘Žπ‘§π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘ ,
π‘†β„Žπ‘’ π‘”π‘Žπ‘§π‘’π‘ —
π‘Žπ‘‘ πΎπ‘Žπ‘“π‘˜π‘Ž π‘œπ‘› π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’. ”

π‹πžπ­β€™π¬ 𝐜𝐚π₯π₯ 𝐒𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 π†π«πžπžπ€ π“π«πšπ πžππ².

This storm is you- something inside you. This book is all about time travel intermingled with magic realism.

The parallels of Kafka and Nakata are perilous trails and keeps this book moving forever. Talk about KFC, Johny Walker, Led Zeppelin, Prince in an epic story and wow- every single character is fleshed out as real.

Murakami’s work is between a reedy line of magic and realism. The plot converges and diverges with there is no conclusion.

The oedipal curse that Kafka faces may not be the central theme but one of the greatest elements of Murakami’s writing here.

Even if we call it an oedipal myth, Myths are like a reservoir containing every story there is.
The characters, then, who are fixated (Saeki, Kafka’s father, Johnny Walker, and even to an extent Crow) are centres of unhappiness. Oshima, Nakata, and Colonel Sanders, conversely, are middles of wisdom and possibility, precisely because they neither insist on nor are subject to misapprehensions of permanence

Well, the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it several times as Murakami suggested.
This one is an insistently metaphysical mind-bender that would ask you to re-read again and again till your soul realizes the soul of this book.

My favourite read of 2019.

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