Kafka on the Shore discussion

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Started this on the train this morning. I read and read and didn't get to 2%. Eep.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

Donchu worry, Matt. It'll start flying afore too long.

At a quarter of the way through, I've noticed quite a few thematic and other small similarities with The Wind-up Bird Chronicles. So these are standing out to me as a little bit more important than the other stuff, just because I feel like they may be Murakami's particular points of fascination/bugaboos:

(view spoiler)[-An emotionally detached narrator who loves to recount minutia
-A missing cat
-A bizarre, almost supernatural connection between World War II and the present day
-Emotionally detached sexual experiences
-Rare chronic illness
-Classical music and its explication (hide spoiler)]

Probably one or two that are slipping my mind at the moment, and more still to come. I'll list 'em as I notice 'em.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

The first time I've felt like something by Murakami was awkwardly written comes in Chapter 18:

(view spoiler)[The scene where Nakata tries to turn himself in at the police station. The perspective changes unnecessarily, the comedy is weak and vaudevillian, and Murakami seems to be trying awfully hard to convince the reader of the logic behind the police officer's actions (which, ironically, are among the more immediately logical in the book thus far). (hide spoiler)]

Very poor, almost amateurish. Hopefully an aberration, as I've really been getting into the vibe of the book otherwise so far.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

I always wonder about the role of translation in such circumstances. Maybe even more so if it's an isolated event.

I'm not as far, but I haven't encountered anything I'd call poor writing. Lots of straightforward writing, verging on "plain" (which sounds like a pejorative, but I don't mean it that way.)

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

Very possible that some of it, particularly the humor, was due to things being lost in translation. The translation's been steady enough for the rest of the book, though (and I'm pretty sure this is the same translator who did Wind-Up Bird), that I'm inclined to believe it's just a poorly constructed scene on the part of Murakami.

Don't get me wrong, though, that's maybe 2-3 pages out of nearly 1,000 I've read by him now that I thought were anything less than mesmerizing. Not at all a bad track record.

I think a lot of it is that my attraction to Murakami's work is much like my attraction to, say, Lynch's work, or some of Beto's more abstract stuff. I love the mood that's created, the vibe. Being sucked into that mood actually gives these artists a lot more leeway than they'd normally have with stiff dialog or staging, unbelievable reactions, etc, because I'm invested in their work in a big picture sense...again, just riding along as part of the dream, letting myself succumb to the mood being built.

This leads, however, to very occasional points where I feel snapped out of the dream, and my proportionate reaction tends to be much harsher than it might normally be in the same way because of that. So, even though it was only a couple pages, that little scene almost physically upset me. I'll be interested to see what others think when they get there, or whether they even notice anything amiss.

Maybe it was just one of those "turkey in the corn" moments, mang.

[Jeppe]

I'm unfortunately very busy these days (trying to write a dissertation), but I've read KonS in the past and am skimming through it along with you guys this month. Really looking forward to hearing you talk about it! I enjoy Murakami a whole lot, and will try to get some thoughts together to write down here over the next couple of weeks.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Dave wrote: "The first time I've felt like something by Murakami was awkwardly written comes in Chapter 18:

[spoilers removed]

Very poor, almost amateurish. Hopefully an aberration, as I've really been gettin..."

Hmmm...I didn't have nearly reaction to it you did, Dave. It may have come off a little like a "bit" to me, but didn't pull the e-brake, by any means.
I think I had the same response that you did to the reveal in the following chapter. I am fairly certain I was making a "who-just-beefed-one?" face during that whole scene. (view spoiler)[Not that something with Oshima wasn't foreshadowed, but that just seemed artless to me in a book I've been enjoying quite a bit, so far. (hide spoiler)]

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

Yeah, I'd agree with you on that scene. Pretty clunky and obvious, and in a way I don't at all associate with Murakami. Besides which, its being a bit myopic in terms of the politics being discussed didn't much help matters.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

I didn't have a problem with chapters 18 OR 19, but 20, whoa boy, what was he thinking there?

Actually, I'm on chapter 12. I have to catch up to find out what you guys are talking about.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

I keep trying to shoehorn Crow Boy into "The Boy Named Crow" facet of Kafka's inner life, but I can't seem to make it fit. Anybody else read this (gutting) children's book?

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

No, Matt, but I wish I could.

[Jeppe]

There might be a link to the children's book - I never heard of it before, so I didn't even consider it, but the suggestion is intriguing.

Just as an aside, I think Murakami mentions in the book that Kafka means "crow" in Czech, which isn't quite right - the word for crow is "vrána," but "kavka" does mean jackdaw, which is related to the crow.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

I have been trying to research the book w/o spoiling things. I am intrigued by this quote from Wikipedia:
"Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write".

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Matt wrote: ""Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write".

I'm approaching the things that happen in this book like events in a dream. My mind is trying to make connections, but at the same time, I don't expect many of them to be made explicit in the text.

Having said that, I could have done without reading a quote like this. I translate that to: "I wrote these things without any idea what they meant or if they mean anything, and I'll leave it to the readers to make up meaning for themselves, and to each of them I'll say: bravo, that is the correct meaning because it is the correct meaning for you."

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

I read chapter 18, and it didn't feel out of place to me. To the extent that it read like a bad comedy bit, I'd chalk that up to Nakata's guileless personality. Felt consistent to me that he'd act that way, and realistic that the policeman wouldn't take him seriously.

Chapter 19 will be read on my commute this evening.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Speaking of Lynch, Dave, I have had a feeling Murakami has seen Lost Highway.

[Dave Alluisi, Evolution of the Arm]

I'd guess so, too. If Lynch isn't a direct influence on Murakami, I'd be shocked.

I was almost hesitant to draw a comparison when I started reading Wind-Up, because, y'know, everything that's the least bit weird gets compared to Lynch...it wasn't long before the comparison in atmosphere and storytelling techniques became undeniable, though.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Well, maybe. They are contemporaries (Lynch is 2 years older; Eraserhead was in 1977, Miyazaki's first novel was published in 1979), and as influential as Lynch's brand of strange has been, he was far from the first to write heavily symbolic stories that use dream logic. You guys know Lynch better than I, so I'm interested to hear your take.

EDIT: He's described as "cinema shy" by one interviewer I found, but he is a fan of Lynch, and named him as one of only two directors he'd feel comfortable tackling an adaptation of Norwegian Wood.

And then there's this: "We are crazy about Twin Peaks in Japan. Do you remember the room with red curtains and the dancing dwarf? That’s the room I mean when I think about subconsciousness. There is something strange and special in yourself. David Lynch knows that too and so we can both create those images, the same images."

There's a little bit more about David Lynch, and the unintentional similarity between of one Murakami's short stories and the backwards speaking dwarf. The full interview is here: http://bombmagazine.org/article/1737/...

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

"Three quarters of the way through and I can confidently say I am ready for this book to be over. I have enjoyed it and all, but, like a house guest, its three days are up and it's starting to smell a little ripe," Matt said. He was wearing new Joe's jeans, brown Romeo work boots, and a red-and-white checked long-sleeved dress shirt.

[Jeppe]

You know Matt, that comment made me realize that I always have trouble finishing Murakami's longer works. Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird both took me about as long to read the last 30% as it took me to burst through the first 70%. The same is true for 1Q84, which I must shamefully admit that I have yet to finish (even though I started reading in December). They just all feel like they're just a bit too long in an essentially unnecessary way.

I think that might be why I, in general, think of his shorter works as being superior (ie A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, some of the short story collections, Underground).

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Jeppe?

Yes, Jason.

I have something to say to you.

Go ahead, shoot.

I agree.

[Jason, Walking Allergen]

Check it ouuuuuut.

http://bookhouseboyspodcast.podomatic...

[Jeppe]

Good episode. I think I have to relisten to this one.

[Matt, I am the Great Went.]

Jeppe wrote: "Good episode. I think I have to relisten to this one."

Wow and thanks! We need to make t-shirts as prizes for people that sick in the head. ;)

[Robert]

You rang?