Kafka on the Shore

[Travis]

Might be Murakami isn't quite your slice of pie Janice. I like his abstract ideas. They make me think. I am always trying to find a deeper meaning g to it all. Hard Boiled Wonderland may have a bit more finality to it though.

I read your review. I after reading the first time did make a shelf (view spoiler)[title and cover seem innocent but inside is some fucked up shit. Lol (hide spoiler)]

[Travis]

33 response to Janice #149 (view spoiler)[Well I mean Van Halen song "Hot for Teacher" said it all and the video for that came out portraying every teenage boys fantasy (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm willing to add more of his books to my wtf shelf. :) This may have not been the right time for me to read something like this, either.

[Pragya]

Rusalka wrote: "Pragya wrote: "Wow, you guys are really getting along with the book.

Thanks so much, Janice for telling me about this thread. I missed it. Your impression about this book is exactly how I felt whe..."

It's good to see you too, Rusalka. I think then Norwegian Wood will be up next for me.

The thing I have learnt about Murakami is you have to relax, and let the storytelling sweep you along. You will not understand everything. And that is okay. It's the writing, the storytelling, and the experience you are coming for.

Yes, true. I didn't get it with Kafka (being my first Murakami). Now I have learnt that.

[Pragya]

Travis sivarT wrote: "Might be Murakami isn't quite your slice of pie Janice. I like his abstract ideas. They make me think. I am always trying to find a deeper meaning g to it all. Hard Boiled Wonderland may have a bit..."

I will check out the hard-boiled thread when I get to it, Travis.

I after reading the first time did make a shelf [title and cover seem innocent but inside is some fucked up shit.
Lol but so true!

[Pragya]

Janice wrote: "I'm willing to add more of his books to my wtf shelf. :) This may have not been the right time for me to read something like this, either."

Janice, I don't think this is a good book of his to start with. I surely felt that way. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage seemed so simple after this. Also, his short stories might help Men Without Women.

You might want to start here - http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks for the recommendations, Pragya. I will read Scheherazade tomorrow, and I'll check out the other two books you've mentioned.

[Sarah]

Sorry I've not been participating much these last few days. My head is a bit full right now after graduating at the weekend. I'm frantically trying to update my website so I've had little time for much else. I have been reading the book still to and from work and I promise to comment on it but I reckon it will be Friday now realistically.

[Travis]

I finished. There's one thing bothering me I'm trying to decide if I missed something or maybe I'm trying to force a connection that there isn't

[Pragya]

Travis sivarT wrote: "I finished. There's one thing bothering me I'm trying to decide if I missed something or maybe I'm trying to force a connection that there isn't"

The question here is would you go back and give it another read in case you missed something. :p

[Sarah]

I like your thoughts in msg 146 Travis (view spoiler)[about the crow.
That he has the soul of the dead. It does seem that crow is "channelling" kafka on the shore as well as Ms Saeki's lover but also Nakata at times. Because Nakata is the only one still alive?!
is that why it's almost as if they share their soul (crow?). Is Is Ms Saeki the same being able to channel Kafka's mother and Sakura his sister? Are they perhaps actually dead. Briefly things started to make more sense for me then they went a bit weirder. (hide spoiler)]

In chapter 30/31 (view spoiler)[Ms Saeki said "We're all dreaming, aren't we?" I think this was when Kafka was "channeling" her lover. I'm briefly wondered if this was a hint. I hope the whole book isn't a dream and everyone wakes up. It would be very cliche if it was. (hide spoiler)]

I love that in chapter 32 (view spoiler)[Nakata starts talking about being normal and how he wants to be like that again. It seems his self awareness is increasing and has a better understanding of what it would be like to be normal, like he used to be even if he doesn't remember that exactly. I really hope he gets his wish.

Also wondering if the entrance stone had once been present on the hill where all the kids collapsed. Nakata says he has to open the entrance stone as he has been in and come out again already (I'm guessing he is referring to when he collapsed).
(hide spoiler)]

ch33(view spoiler)[I really liked this chapter and the talk of the crow.
Not so comfortable with the sex scene. Yuck. (hide spoiler)]

ch36(view spoiler)[Colonel Sanders is on it and to the rescue. I am still wanting to know what his role will be in the book generally. (hide spoiler)]

ch 37-42(view spoiler)[Nakata is dreaming a lot and says he can read in his dreams and isn't so dumb. Is he kafka then? Or is he going through the entrance stone to another world? And it's the library they are looking for. But Kafka isn't there now. I'm guessing Ms Saeki is the one they are here to see. Yup. Nakata and Ms Saeki's meeting was sweet and confusing. He hint's that it's time for both of them to leave here. Go through the entrance stone?

Ok, what's with Kafka - he says that when he drinks water his cock automatically absorbs it. That he can hear the fain sound of it soaking up the water. This doesn't make sense to me. Is he just implying his hard on got bigger as he drank? Who knows. Slightly concerned that Kafka is heading to the heart of the forest. (hide spoiler)]

ch44(view spoiler)[And it would appear that Nakata and Ms Saeki are now dead. Pretty coincidental. Must have gone elsewhere.
Gone through the entrance stone? Now in another universe?
I really felt for Hoishin. (hide spoiler)]

I have about 50 pages left. I'll try read some more today.

[Travis]

I can't remember the exact wording but several times we heard. The world is a metaphor. Or we live in a big metaphor. I'm in the neighborhood anyway, for some of the unexplained connections I keep recalling this. I felt like it was brought up a few different times as a way for Murakami to remind the audience that this is a novel and not everything has to make perfect sense and perfect connections. Some of what is happening may simply be a metaphor.

[Travis]

Pragya wrote: "Travis sivarT wrote: "I finished. There's one thing bothering me I'm trying to decide if I missed something or maybe I'm trying to force a connection that there isn't"

The question here is would y..."

The older I get the more I enjoy rereading books actually. I wouldn't rule out me reading this again sometime. To be honest

[Travis]

If you've finished (view spoiler)[the thing that bothered me was miss Saeki told Nakata it's him in the painting, he told us he went to the sea all the time as a boy so certainly a boy on the shore could be Nakata. Then she told Kafka he was the boy on the shore. Again it could be any boy fitting the age. But is the painting then just a metaphor of a type. Was Ms Saeki just saying it was them or did she mean it actually was them. Obviously there is an age discrepancy that makes this impossible, but what does the entrance do. Ms Saeki says she opened it. Was she able to see the past or the future. We really don't get told what it's purpose is.

And what about all the dead cats. Did they ever exist. If so then how did the police not find a trace of them (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

So totally confused. I'm off to read the Wikipedia page on it to see if it can explain this book.

[Janice, Moderator]

From Wikipedia, "In an interview posted on his English language website, Murakami says that the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it several times: "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".

[Travis]

There's a study guide available for the book also

[Sarah]

Travis sivarT wrote: "There's a study guide available for the book also"

You could have told us at the start ;-)

[Travis]

Lol. I ran across it the other day. Not sure what I was looking for exactly. I remember seeing it and thinking huh does someone teach this in school somewhere

[Janice, Moderator]

One should seek out Murakami's English website because he apparently welcomed questions from readers and replied directly to about 1200 of them. It would be interesting to read some of that Q & A.

[Janice, Moderator]

No such luck. The link to the questions goes nowhere. :(

[Sarah]

I have finished the book. I'll come back on Friday when i have more time to comment. I've given it 5 stars although it was probably 4.5 stars.

[Sarah]

I am as confused as you guys. The end (view spoiler)[There was definitely a link between Kafka and Nakata, after all, Kafka "stepped through" Nakata to kill JW. I believe that Kafka was also Ms Saeki's lover. I believe she was Kafka's mother. Not totally but in some way. Metaphorical? maybe. Different universe? Seems more likely. Time shifting? There seems to be some of that. I don't know. I feel like I have all the information in my head and that I am close to an answer but it keeps alluding me. Like the "tip of the tongue" phenomenon.

I don't really know what went on but I did enjoy it. I was disappointed how things ended with JW. It was briefly alluded to at the end that he had multiple flutes that he would continue to use. I briefly wondered if he was using the flutes to attract Kafka, Nakata, Ms Saeki etc together and that there would be a show down. Perhaps that will happen. Maybe there will be another book at some point?!

We didn't really get closure on the kids fainting incident at the beginning either. Was the entrance stone opened? Did the teacher open it when she hid her bloodied sanitary towel? I can't remember whether she hid it under a stone or not.

Despite the lack of clarity, I enjoyed the book very much. I relished the abstract surrealness of the book. I quite like not knowing what's going on. The characters were well thought out, the main characters and the side characters. I liked them. They were interesting.

I gave the book 5 stars although really 4.5 stars. I enjoyed the ride although I preferred Hard-boiled Wonderland much more because there was more closure and understanding drawn from the novel.
(hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

Do you think you'll read it again to perhaps gain better understanding?

[Sarah]

I have the audio so I might listen to that at some point. I've never been big on rereads as you know but recently they have seemed more appealing with some books. Not hurrying out to do so though. Some day perhaps.

[Janice, Moderator]

At times I think I should re-read it, and then I talk myself out of it. Maybe we can do a buddy re-read someday. LOL!