Kafka on the Shore in Crazy Challenge Connection

Mar 27, 2014 Srividya Vijapure rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: srividyas-2014-challenge

“You can run but you can’t hide”, at least not forever!! This is the most difficult and perplexing book that I have ever had to review till date. However, it is also the most interesting, profound and lyrical book that I have read till date.

Totally unrelated events and people blend and come together in this wonderful book. The characters and elements in this book are as varied and vivid as they can get – a 15 year old boy Kafka Tamura who runs away from home, an old gruesome oedipal prophecy, ly “You can run but you can’t hide”, at least not forever!! This is the most difficult and perplexing book that I have ever had to review till date. However, it is also the most interesting, profound and lyrical book that I have read till date.

Totally unrelated events and people blend and come together in this wonderful book. The characters and elements in this book are as varied and vivid as they can get – a 15 year old boy Kafka Tamura who runs away from home, an old gruesome oedipal prophecy, lyrics of an old song that is almost realistic, an aged simpleton named Nakata who is a victim of an old wartime affliction, from which he has never recovered, humans talking to cats and cats talking to humans, a ghost like pimp, Hegel quoting prostitute, soldiers who haven’t aged since World War II and living in forests, rains of fish and leeches, a brutal yet perplexing murder – All form the basic elements of this wonderful book. This book has snippets from Greek mythology, music and its history, philosophy and of course the beautiful world of metaphors and metaphysics.

When seen individually, these elements might seem odd, yet the author brings everything together in almost a poetic perfection, which makes the reading interesting and intriguing. The story is full of metaphors and metaphysical reality. It is almost as if we are in another world altogether, something running parallel to the one we actually live in. There are several profound statements made in the course of the book, which makes the reader ponder deeply about their own lives and its stage or state! The language, as I mentioned above, is lyrical and almost poetic in its flow. It does not leave the reader bored at any moment. In fact, you might be confused while reading it but you won’t stop as you have to finish this journey.

This is the first Murakami that I have read and as it came highly recommended had wanted it to be my first. And I must say that I am not disappointed at all. In fact, I am amazed at the wonderful manner in which the author has managed to connect seemingly unconnected elements and blended them into a tale that is so beautifully and movingly written.

As a word of caution, I would definitely advise readers to plod through the initial pages, even if they do not make sense to you. It is when you reach the middle that the tale actually comes together. The journey might seem tiresome for some but believe me it is worth it.

Finally, thank you Mr. Murakami for giving me the pleasure of reading something so profound and beautiful. Do read it, it’s worth the experience and the trouble!
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Sep 25, 2024 Colleen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, reviews, 20th-21st-century-japanese-lit

OMG. I had wanted to read Murakami forever and never got around to it. Definitely worth the payoff. It's so weird in almost like a Ghibli way (+some Greek influence!). I am definitely going to be reading more. ...more

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