Kafka on the Shore

by Haruki Murakami

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In a word: otherworldly

In a sentence: Kafka Tamura runs away from home and a horrific prophecy.

Synopsis: The lines between life and death are shadowy in Katamatsu, where Kafka runs to escape from a prophecy his father made of him as a child. There, his life becomes inseparably intertwined with those of Mr. Nakata and Ms. Saeki, who both experienced terrible events which only destiny can set right.

Reactions: I’d been waiting to give Murakami a try for ages, and finally picked up Kafka on the Shore. He is known for his phantastic ideas and detailed writing style, and this novel served as a wonderful introduction to both. Kafka on the Shore has everything: nuanced characters, tragic love story, and ominous prophecy. The plot is the perfect crescendo, riveting, but well-paced, with the sense to linger at all the key moments. Murakami's writing style is also lovingly detailed, but unsentimental. A writer you can trust, who slips the reader into the narrative and leaves the heart aching for more.

Kafka on the Shore uses metaphors in a particularly interesting way. Some characters, particularly Oshima and Kafka, take the metaphor more literally as life advice. This shifts the use of the metaphor, turning the novel into a sort of self-aware allegory. Perhaps most acutely aware of this is Oshima who, due to his hemophilia, must use metaphors in lieu of life experiences.

In this novel, the line between life and death is grayed, and characters are constantly slipping back and forth. It questions what it means to be alive and what part fulfillment has to play in this definition. Also, death is transformed into a physical place and is treated as an oasis from life’s sorrows and disappointments rather than merely the negative pole to life. It made me want to learn more about Japanese and Shinto philosophies about consciousness and the afterlife, since Japanese culture plays such a fundamental role in the novel.

Read if: you enjoy engaging, thoughtful prose, or for a wonderful first taste of Murakami.