Kafka On The Shore

This was Haruki Murakami’s second book I read (after ‘Norwegian Wood’), due to its wide popularity. Murakami is one of the pioneers in ‘Magical Realism’ genre, and this is evident in this book too. This is one of the best works of Murakami, an extremely engrossing tale of two central characters – a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who has run away from his home in search of his long-missing mother and sister or to escape an Oedipal prophecy. Another central character is named Nakata, who, in his own words, is ‘not so bright’. Both these characters, living their individual lives, their destinies are somehow entwined.The book has brilliant instances of magical realism such as –- Cats having conversations with people- Colonel Sanders (of the KFC fame), appearing out of nowhere, employing a prostitute.- World War II soldiers who have not aged- Fish falling from the sky- A murder where the identity of both the victim and murderer is a mystery- A small stone so heavy, that a person can barely lift it- Concepts of reincarnation and destinyMurakami’s forte lies in using bizarre instances, simple but soul touching dialogues, interesting & quirky characters, to weave a magical tale. This novel is no different and is an absolutely crazy ride. If you’re picking this book, you should expect all this, and more. What I love about Murakami, is that the story almost always takes you beyond the normal bounds of human reality, into some sort of an alternate world where metaphysical magic happens!For people who are new to Murakami’s style of writing, they might find a lot of events really random. And yes, they are random at times. Not denying that bit. But maybe, that’s the whole charm of his writing, where certain things happen which are totally unexpected.‘Kafka on the Shore’ is a story about a fifteen-year-old teenager, who runs away from home. He decides to leave his home in order to find his lost mother and sister, but mostly, as it’s described in the book, to get away from his father. The father figure has been shown in a negative light, but not much into detail. His fate lands him to a distant town, where he meets a gay friend, who helps him through a big part of his journey. He also meets two exceptional women, who could have been his mother or sister, and ends up copulating with them. This is one phase of the story. Simultaneously, Murakami introduces you to a simpleton sexagenarian, Nakata, who has kind of lost his reasoning abilities in an incident which in some way is related to the extra-terrestrial. Nakata, although not so bright, has a weird gift of talking to cats and making fish fall from the sky. Somehow, Kafka and Nakata’s destinies are interconnected, and the whole book is about their journey. The book is extremely engrossing and entertaining. Now, as it usually happens with Murakami’s work, some of the questions have been left unanswered and some events have an open-ended interpretation. So, if you’re someone who likes straightforward stories, you might be disappointed on these fronts.Favorite Quotes from the book:- “Each person feels pain in his own way, each has his own scars.”- “If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.”- “Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.”- “If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets.”- “Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in a while, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.”- “Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.”- “Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.”- “Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”- “Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.”- “Chance encounters are what keep us going.”- “Being with her I feel a pain, like a frozen knife stuck in my chest. An awful pain, but the funny thing is I'm thankful for it. It's like that frozen pain and my very existence are one.”- “It's hard to tell the difference between sea and sky, between voyager and sea. Between reality and the workings of the heart.”

Good book, descent price, wish they gave bookmarks for a change.

Haruki Murakami (thats a tuff name) became the second author whose name I hadn't heard a month ago but now after reading one of his books - I totally am a huge fan of his writing(s). The other one of-course is the fantastic "Gabriel Garcia Marquez" my all time favorite - again both of them came highly recommended by friends, had seen a lot of their works on various book stores. As I read a few of Marquez's novels last year and fell in love with his surreal writings, I actually slowed down after reading a couple of them realizing that he hasn't written much (in numbers), so I need to stretch it as long as I can to enjoy it more. But after reading (my) very first Murakami book - I guess time has come that I finish Marquez's books quickly and move on to Murakami :D. He is simply superb and I am sure if you read both of them - you will definitely agree that both their works transport you to an entirely different world altogether and its unbelievably unreal, fascinating yet so convincing. Totally loved this book and will never forget the fantastic characters - so many of them. Of-course Japanese as well as Koreans have some kind of specialization on Blood, Gore and Sex too - so not so shocking for me, neither predictable but nor gut wrenching like the way Marquez does. If someone has read and loved him - this one is a piece of cake. There is another point that I so much want to talk about but unfortunately that works like a spoiler for those who haven't read it, if you have read I guess you know what I wanted to say :).Kafka on the shore came very highly recommended by various book readers groups and I was shocked that I hadn't heard the name of the writer ever so I had to pick it up and give it a read. Initially it had a very slow start but as I kept plowing through as per my Kindle after 20% - there was no looking back. Story of a 15 year old kid who calls himself "Kafka Tamura", runs away from his home in search of his mother and elder sister who had abandoned them (him and his dad) long ago. Parallely we have another fantastic story of Mr. Nakata (a totally totally lovable character) who has no memory of his past, cant read or write, is on state subsidy aged around 60 years. I mean it was such an interesting read to have one chapter on Kafka and his adventure of running away, finding a place to live by (even that is a terrific story in itself), finding friends, trying to find his mother and than on the other hand we have second chapter on Mr. Nakata and his adventure, in search of something, he has no clue where to find and what exactly he is looking for? why is he the way he is, how he finds help and the thing and what it leads - is simply unbelievably gorgeous story that you've got to read.Once I completed like 20% - the story became so engrossing that I just couldn't put it down - unfortunately due to my travel I had to do that so many times but I picked it up again as soon as I could, have actually spent some sleepless nights reading the story of Mr. Nakata and the kid Kafka. Flashback of Nakata's past as a kid, the accident and its repercussions, the way he talks, his cat connections were hilarious. For me Mr. Nakata was the real hero of the book with a terrific ending (I will call that, that). Another thing which works big time in favor of the book is its parallel tracks - I kept imagining that sooner or later they have to cross their paths, there has to be a connection between the kid and the gramps. Does it? and what was the connection and how it all ends is what this book should be read for. Now that I know - I was thinking - would I ever pick this book again? I certainly will. Another thing that I love about Russian and Japanese books is their character names. They are totally too good and I find them pretty interesting when it takes some time for me to get used to the names and how they should be pronounced - here too there are a loads of them, like Kafka Tamura, Mr. Nakata, his help Hoshino the lovable truck driver, Oshima, Ms Saeki, Sakura, Johnie Walker (cat killer) and the KFC's Colonel Sanders - terrific.Do let me if you have read the book how you like it. And what would you make out of the ending. The ending leaves so many questions unanswered but the philosophical turn it takes - it actually doesn't matter by that time. Overall a terrific read and I will be totally looking forward to his other works now. And I am sure you must have seen my last post - a friend just gifted me two books - one from Marquez and one from Murakami :). Happy reading.

One of the best story I have ever read. Entertaining, enjoyed each and every twist and turns. Though big book according to my standards. Felt somewhat boring in middle, but overall it's awesome. Must read for everybody out there. Must buy. Haruki murakami rocks.

Great story

Sobre el producto: el libro llegó en perfecto estado, aunque me sorprendió que no viniera cubierto de plástico. Excelente edición. A pesar de ser de pasta blanda las hojas no son tan delgadas, dándole una densidad más uniforme y sólida, lo cual me gusta porque se maltrata menos y es más sencillo de cargar.Es una historia única, siendo un seguidor de Murakami y habiendo leído casi toda su bibliografía, me atrevo a decir que es una de sus novelas más imaginativas y variadas. A pesar del toque realista y nostálgico usual que se halla en sus obras, esta posee también algo que la hace ir más allá de lo que uno está acostumbrado normalmente del autor.Lo compré a pesar de que mi lengua materna es el español (y la obra está en inglés), sin embargo, a diferencia de Killing Commendatore (La Muerte del Comendador), encontré la prosa de esta novela más amable y más sencilla de interpretar, por no decir concisa y menos ambigua. Me encantó! En definitiva es una de mis obras favoritas del autor, aunque si uno viene buscando algo romántico como Norwegian Wood, no creo que esta obra sea el lugar más adecuado para comenzar. Es más, esta me parece incluso mejor para refrescarse de lo habitual en las obras del autor. Excelente libro.About the product: the book came just perfect, although it suprised me that it wasn't covered in plastic. The book was just as you see in the picture inside the shipping bag. Excelent edition. Although paperback, the pages are not as thin as in other books, which gives it a great and more uniform density, since it's less likely for it to become damaged.

Even though the book itself is beautiful, I will be giving it a bad review because some of its pages were glued together, so they would tear when I opened them.

Well, this was impressive.I have read one other Haruki Murakami novel some years ago, that being Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and while I really enjoyed that book, this one I loved. And besides, I can feel echoes of that one in this one, and those kind of connections bring me great joy, whether I am projecting them or not.What to even say about this book? What to say about Haruki Murakami? His works have the interestingly dichotomous ability to mix feelings of the small and the large, the personal and the sweeping, the banal and the mystical. Often while reading I'll find myself thinking... "What the f***?" And I can answer this only with the mantra: "No idea, it's Murakami." Some people maybe can't get behind that and still enjoy the novel, but I love it. The bizarre occurs without explanation, and the dreamlike is commonplace. He leads you from one question to the next so effectively that even when you don't circle back around for the answers, you're having too much fun to mind.And Murakami's sheer skill... His prose is excellent by default, and ranges into the beautiful. He paints a vivid picture without being overly descriptive, and he allows you to sink into a sort of flavor of a mood. There seems to be a very human understanding that bleeds through onto the page, and not just in his prose but in his character work. He taps into the heart of things, and reminds you why life's simple pleasures are pleasures in the first place. This is a man who seems to truly live, a man who knows how to take his loves and interests and inject them into a story that sticks with you.Kafka on the Shore is at its heart the inexorable, tidal pulling of two disparate storylines. That of Kafka Tamura, 15-year-old runaway haunted by a dark prophecy, and that of Satoru Nakata, an old man who suffered a childhood affliction that left him... different. How these two stories interact and interweave will leave you feeling like you're reading a riddle at times. Thematically he is playing with dreams, imagination, and responsibility. The darkness of the human subconscious. Ghosts. Memory. Time. Libraries.... Honestly, I find the book hard to capture in words, futile devices that they are. There were sections of it where I even doubted the reality of what I was reading. I mean, my favorite character in the book was probably Colonel Sanders. Do with that what you will.So much of this story takes place in that dark, ethereal labyrinth of your mind that it feels like you can only accurately explain half of it. And that second, unexplainable half is where the true magic lies. Which is, I believe, why I'm so drawn to his stories; they leave much to the imagination, and there is plenty leftover to ponder. Nothing is so tantalizing as the unknown, and Murakami understands that deeply. But as strange as the novel is at times, it really is beautiful. Emotionally effective, to say the least. I want to use the word gorgeous, even. The character work feels genuine, borderline romanticized. And the entire work is so intricately interwoven that it feels like the kind of thing you could jump right back into when you finish, which may have even been Murakami's intention.If you can't tell by the unfiltered praise, I loved this book. It belongs on my favorites shelf, I think. I don't think it's for everyone. It was overtly sexual in a way that caught me off guard, and in a way that I can imagine will make some readers uncomfortable. There are also scenes of overt, sometimes shocking, violence. But I don't fault Murakami for exploring the dark recesses of the human experience, or of stories in general. In fact, I think it would feel strange were those areas of darkness missing.Having just finished, I have that same sort of melancholic regret that I sometimes have when I finish a Ghibli movie; a long journey well-ended, characters coming full-circle with lessons learned, a strange new world that I want to stay in a little while longer. Needless to say, I'll be reading more of his work."Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep on moving, trying to slip through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won’t be able to escape it. Still, you have to go there—to the edge of the world. There’s something you can’t do unless you get there."

Mi libro favorito de Haruki Murakami. Edición muy bonita.