Kafka on the Shore
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and one of the world's greatest storytellers comes "an insistently metaphysical mind-bender" (The New Yorker) about a teenager on the run and an aging simpleton. Here we meet 15-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, 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. "As powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.... Reading Murakami ... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion." --The Chicago Tribune
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Community Reviews
I just finished reading Kafka on the Shore, and the first thing I feel is nostalgia. I miss the characters and places that live within its pages. The book has an important slice-of-life component that makes it cozy—not always comfortable, but cozy nonetheless. I loved it, and I say that from the heart.
Something that pleasantly surprised me was Murakami's sense of humor; I didn’t expect it. Characters who laugh at themselves, paired with incredibly funny, witty, and relatable dialogues, stand out. There's a delicious balance of introspection and satire. The Magical Realism is present here and there, but there’s none of the gratuitous nonsense —it’s not the focus of the story, but rather a complement to it. It’s a very well-written book.
Now I will have a coffee while I reflect and properly say goodbye to the characters. It feels like saying goodbye to summer friends before returning home. For me, good books make their way into your heart, so I have no complaints about this one. 5/5
Something that pleasantly surprised me was Murakami's sense of humor; I didn’t expect it. Characters who laugh at themselves, paired with incredibly funny, witty, and relatable dialogues, stand out. There's a delicious balance of introspection and satire. The Magical Realism is present here and there, but there’s none of the gratuitous nonsense —it’s not the focus of the story, but rather a complement to it. It’s a very well-written book.
Now I will have a coffee while I reflect and properly say goodbye to the characters. It feels like saying goodbye to summer friends before returning home. For me, good books make their way into your heart, so I have no complaints about this one. 5/5
This book had some similar themes as other Murakami books, so if you’ve read some of his other work, it’ll feel familiar. It’s a little mysterious and a little weird, but that’s what makes it fun to read. The ending is satisfying, and despite all the weird parts, the messages and ideas are very compatible with average life.
Merged review:
This book had some similar themes as other Murakami books, so if you’ve read some of his other work, it’ll feel familiar. It’s a little mysterious and a little weird, but that’s what makes it fun to read. The ending is satisfying, and despite all the weird parts, the messages and ideas are very compatible with average life.
Merged review:
This book had some similar themes as other Murakami books, so if you’ve read some of his other work, it’ll feel familiar. It’s a little mysterious and a little weird, but that’s what makes it fun to read. The ending is satisfying, and despite all the weird parts, the messages and ideas are very compatible with average life.
I don't think I know what this book is about. Identity? Time? Love? Memories of love? I have no idea. Halfway through the book I started taking my pencil to it and underlining the "important" parts, hoping I'd get things connected. Yes, things are connected. For better or worse, I'm not sure that helps. It's got some incredibly great quotes, too numerous to try to list.
Still, I give it a 5, just for the sake of the incredible writing and being food for thought. Maybe I'll read it over, maybe some of it will fall into place. It's abstract art. Bring to it, from it whatever you want.
Still, I give it a 5, just for the sake of the incredible writing and being food for thought. Maybe I'll read it over, maybe some of it will fall into place. It's abstract art. Bring to it, from it whatever you want.
What a weird story! Kind of at a loss for words on how to describe the feeling after finishing this. The story flowed well, and I was definitely entertained the whole way through. One of those stories where you have NO idea where it is heading. The only thing I didn’t like was all the sexual parts and incest related shit…
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