Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami , Philip Gabriel (Translator)
Original Language : Japaneese
Genre:  Fiction  Fantasy  Japanese Literature  Classics  LiteratureÂ
About the Book
Haruki Murakami has spun Kafka on the Shore into a wonderful tale of metaphysical living, embroidering two interesting personalities along parallel paths. A teenager with a rather disturbing Oedipal prophecy on his heart and desire to go out in search of his lost mother and sister, Kafka Tamura actually flees his home.
First, he meets Nakata, an elderly gentleman untouched by this life ever since an incident of war changed everything in his life. For some unknown reason, Nakata is drawn to Kafka, and thus begins his parallel pilgrimage, propelled by forces beyond his understanding.
Their twin odysseys get embroiled in surreal and captivating happenings. Within their universe live cats who can talk, a ghost who happens to be a philosophical pimp, ageless WWII super-soldiers hiding in the forest, and weird rains of fish. Topping it all is a horrible, unsolved murder. As the destinies of Kafka and Nakata unfold, the mysteries underlying these supernatural occurrences are snatched from their cloaks, granting upon one a path to escape from tragedy and another a path toward beginning a new.
467 Pages
First published on September 1, 2002
My Review of Kafka on the Shore
In Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore, many things in the novel fly against convention, and from those pages, the reader finds herself lost between the realms of reality and surrealism. With every flip of a page, the reader slowly becomes agreed upon that they are being caught in a narrative that is as much an enigma as it is a story of depth.
This is the story of Kafka Tamura, who, at fifteen, runs away from his father and home in a bid to avert a dark prophecy; and, Nakata, an elderly man who can talk to cats. Their lives somehow intertwine in mysterious fashion, and what follows is a surreal journey where coincidences abound—talking cats, raining fish, and parallel universes.
Whether in the way Nakata drags Kafka into his narrative or how the young man travels toward Nakata, there is the unique Murakami flavor of blending magical realism with philosophical inquiries, the themes of fate, identity, and the subconscious, leaving the reader pondering over possibilities well beyond the end of the last chapter. The work’s organized continent would range from charm to bewitching with poetic descriptions and almost sleep-inducing eerie dialogues.
Yet, most fascinating remains the ambiguity of the story: there are no obvious answers; rather, it encourages interpretation, making the experience individual for everyone. It would often feel like piecing together a puzzle with no definite solution, which only adds to the charm.
At the same time, Kafka on the Shore might not be everyone`s cup of tea. Its vagueness and non-linear storyline might not fit the taste smooth and digestible narrative readers prefer. But, for those interested in thought-provoking fiction that exists somewhere between the modalities of perception, this would prove to be an unforgettable experience.
Kafka on the Shore is a must for anyone looking for a novel that takes apart the conventional telling of a story and that judges the human psyche. Once again, Murakami has given us a piece of literary brilliance that lingers in the mind long after the last page is closed.
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So this is all about this book , so if you are interested in this book then what you are waiting for? Go and read this amazing book now.
Happy Reading
Gresha
