Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Kafka en la orilla

“All I know is I’m totally alone, all alone in an unfamiliar place, like some solitary explorer who has lost his compass and map, is that what it means to be free?”

I have so many emotions towards Murakami’s ‘Kafka on the Shore’, and it’s really difficult to determine how I feel about it. It is about a 15 year old boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home and settles in a library. His story is somewhat a retelling of the Oepidus Myth which is already a messed up tale, but combined with the elements of magical realism Murikami implements, this book just becomes really weird.

The other protagonist of whom held the alternate view point is a sixty year old man called Nakata of whom brings many of the weird elements. I adored his storyline and he was so wholesome and just innocently went around talking to cats and making it rain fish while pursuing some goal which he never really knows the true purpose of or even where he is supposed to be going. Nakata was such a fun and wholesome character whose story was just repeatedly ruined by the enveloping perspective of Kafka who really was just a very horny teenager.

On one hand the ‘weird’ of this book reminded me a lot of Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and the Margarita’ with the aforementioned fish and talking cats and unexplainable appearance of Colonel Sanders for a plot convenience which he really did not need to be the face of KFC to convey. The other kind of weird completely ruined all the magic and was just disturbing. Murikami couldn’t go two chapters without describing erection or sexual fantasies, and constantly felt a need to intimately describe the penis. There are two instances of rape which he hardly recognises and handles awfully, many attempts to describe periods and the female body that he clearly had no comprehension of, and though my comprehension is by no means great I can absolutely tell you Murakami’s was beyond awful, and numerous extremely violent episodes of animal cruelty and mutilation which did not need to be so intimate to convey the point that the plot aimed to. Also a lot felt unexplained in the ending, as is probably inevitable with such a wacky book, but that concern is far from the issues I had with the violence and erotica.

It is disappointing really, because the plot was captivating and at its heart I felt was about belonging, and not knowing where you truly belong until you are forced to spend time away from there. I adored Nakata’s character and the ending really struck me in the feels, but just so many times I was pulled away from the story with disgusting descriptions and depictions of erotica which were far from necessary and handled awfully. It was a brilliant plot completely ruined because Murakami can’t keep his sexual fantasies to himself.

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milliebiggs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My copy of Kafka On The Shore is now possibly my most treasured book. Murakami is an insane genius and I want his brain just without his pervertedness. This book was absolutely insane and confusing but so incredible. I loved all of these characters and this was just such a smart book!! Insane!!! Murakami has some crazy effect on me idk what this book was laced with. But anyway this was a very good book and I have so many thoughts.

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soton's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

2nd Murakami book. The author has a clear formula: two women, the one I (the protagonist) long for the most but who's out of reach, then the one who's unrealistically frank and open with from the second I meet who I have sex with. It's too formulaic, like the same book in different fonts.

I still think they're well written, and I like the magical realism aspects, but ultimately I didn't enjoy the fetish content which I feel like was a huge aspect of this book. The pseudo-incest foreshadowing "You are prophesized to sleep with your sister and mother", and the weird way Oshima was written about calling him a "he/she" who "becomes a woman when he sleeps" all just made me want to stop reading it. The intended thrill of the incest just manifested as dread for me, and the self-insert rape scenes were worse than I was expecting. It feels like reading someone's personal fantasy fulfillment for fantasies I don't have. It's clear Murakami books aren't for me.

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jayvdw's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book is a fever dream. It may not feel like it while reading, but the moment you close the book and try to really think about everything, that is the moment it hits you.

After finishing the book the first thing I did was browse the internet for almost an hour, reading and listening to different theories. The book is complex and like Murakami said: the book consists of several riddles with no answers, instead the riddles combine, and the possibility of an answer emerges. In my eyes, this means there is no one way to interpret the book. Each and every person will have their own view of the meaning and full story.

I loved how the book combined Western and Eastern philosophy and mythology. This only enriches the fever dream-like feeling of the book. In addition to this, the book talks about many different important themes and makes you think about them.

Overall, the book is wild and crazy, it brings out the magic within the mundane. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a more complex story. Even after finishing the book, it will still haunt your mind and you will wonder what it all could really have been about.

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bazigigi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel very conflicted about this book so I'll post my review below but I definitely understand why some people love and some find it too disturbing

Let me start with the bad and get that over with. Miyazaki always seems to struggle writing complex and well thought out female characters and simply cannot seem to write any female character (regardless of age) without explicit commentary at the very least. I know fans are inclined to chalk it up to the flawed and often young male main characters' viewpoint but it happens with such consistency across all his novels that it doesn't feel like an unreliable narrator it feels like an unreliable author.

Moreover alot of the explicit violence and sexual content adds nothing to the story and is included to create shock value. This gives the impression that because the author feels he is writing a deep commentary on deep topics it must contain shocking content (however relevant) to earn it's grittiness. This lack of sincerity leaves this unnecessary violence pretentious and cheap. Although it is of course still very stomach turning.

All that said, the actual subject matter of the book and the journey of the characters is extremely interesting. It is easy to get into the POVs of multiple characters and understand their thoughts and motivations and the ambiguity of what exactly is happening or what things mean is very well done. It is engaging precisely because it doesn't spell out for the reader what everything means instead allowing you to draw your own conclusions. In a way it is like watching a painting develop the purpose of each addition seems unclear until you reach the end and the reader is presented the finished piece to make of what they will. Ultimately this makes it a really compelling book to re-read, analyze and discuss with other because theories and takeaways can vary. To me this book was in large part a commentary about the nature of time and trauma. But I won't say much more so everyone can find their own meaning the way I got to!
As long as you go in with your eyes wide open about the story's relation to the Oedipus Myth, the graphic violence and sexual content and Miyazaki's style of writing women and girls (and you think you can stomach those things) I recommend this book, it is compelling and you will want to read it again (perhaps skipping certain parts). I'm taking away points for the pointless disturbing/violent content, typically bad sex scenes and the poorly fleshed out over-sexualized female characters but it was otherwise a thought provoking good book if you don't mind some pretentious prose 3.5 stars.

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