Reviews with content warning for Rape - Kafka On The Shore

Long story short: It's the same tried Murakami formula, only with even more perturbing sexual content that makes you question the author's sensibilities and intent.

This is my third Murakami novel after reading Killing Commendatore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle respectively.

What I loved about those books was their sometimes glacial pace, the meandering plots, the ambiguity, the magical realism. I didn't think they needed to be tighter or more conclusive, and I found them hard to put down (Particularly Wind-up Bird).

Kafka on the Shore undoubtedly shares these traits. I chuckled at some of the memes about just how formulaic Murakami's work is, and I thought it was exaggerated. But man, even three books into his catalogue, they're painfully accurate.

Perhaps I read this book at the wrong time, perhaps if I'd read it before Wind-up Bird or Commendatore, I'd have enjoyed it more. I'm not sure how well they would hold up if I were to read them again now. What at first seemed so captivating would probably now feel like a trope given the consistent themes throughout the work I have read.

Equally, and most importantly, the sexual content and the portrayal of women in his work has put me off. I'm not sure if I was more tolerant of it when I first started reading him, or if Kafka on the Shore really is much worse, but either way, it's become too much for me and taints the experience somewhat.

What really took the cake in this book, more so than in the others,

was the bizarre insertion of two feminist strawmen characters midway through the novel, and the ham-fisted (in the most charitable terms) adaptation of the Oedipus Complex which underpinned the whole plot, not to mention the very questionable portrayal of sexual assault.

It may be worse, as it's written largely from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy ... but even then, that doesn't explain the actions of other characters.

I have no problems with challenging themes, disgusting characters etc. However, in this case, it's very hard to take the author charitably and the best interpretation I can have is that he is clumsily repeating the same tropes. I won't speculate any further, but sadly, at least for me, it undermines the other qualities of his work to a significant degree.

If you can put up with that, and you like the formula, you'll probably love it. If you're like me, I'd recommend the Wind-Up-Bird Chronicle first and foremost if you can stomach some of the questionable stuff, if not, I'd just avoid it (and Murakami) all together.

Content Warnings

zyaire's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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wheatsquares33's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Note: I listened to about the first 60% as an audiobook (which was very well done!), but then I realized that I could read it faster than I'd listen to it, so I bought it physically and read the rest.

Very good book, there's a lot a lot to unpack here. Murakami says that it requires multiple readings, and yeah it's very that.

More than anything, it's a very surreal story. And in a way that I very much enjoy, I love stories that throw everything at the wall--some things symbolically, some just for fun. It's very cool.

I finished the book satisfied, but there are still some questions I need to answer, and I'm fine with that.

Even without the more esoteric content, this was a very enjoyable listen/read. I love Nakata and Hoshino and Oshima, all great characters. It's just a good coming of age story at its core, and there's a lot to dig into alongside that.

Some moments like the uh Johnny Walker cat chapter and some of the sex stuff are unpleasant and a bit excessive. But it does all kinda contribute to the flow of the story?

So hang pretty baller book. Will probably read again someday

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irritated_iris's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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nyky's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Lot of subtext about life in general in this novel. This would have been 5 stars except for 2 things: 1) lackluster ending, which I find is common to the coupler books of Murakami I've read. Everything is great until the ending and then it doesn't wrap up cleanly, thought that may be the point. 2) Weird sex stuff like ghost sex and rape. I don't know what the point of these weird and disturbing scenes are in Murakami's work but I think the book would be way better without.

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valjeanval's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I picked this one up at the library to celebrate Banned Books Month. I've read a bit of Murakami in the past, so I expected some weirdness, and I was right to expect it. This book is an Oedipal myth, and it gets very mythy with talking cats, personality displacement, and portals to pocket dimensions. I couldn't see the exact reason why it was banned, but probably statutory sex scenes with people who may be mother/son but it could also be the fact that it features a trans man who is particularly nuanced and treated like a human being by basically every character. You just never know with book banners.

My husband often asks me if I'm liking whatever I'm reading, and I often found that questions hard to answer with this one. This book is profoundly uncomfortable and occasionally horrific. It's also Murakami, so there's a great deal I probably need four or five re-reads to interpret. Did I like it? Kind of? When I wasn't horrified? It's hard to explain. I had similar feelings after 1Q84. I like reading Murakami, though, because it really makes my literary interpreter brain kick into gear. Even when I don't understand points of the story, I enjoy thinking about them and why they are there. This book made me think about Japanese civilians in WWII, Greek Mythology, classical music, poetry, libraries as memories, memories as libraries, why people help others, capitalism, philosophy, and lots more, so it felt worth my time. That said, definitely check out some trigger warnings before reading this one.

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booksense's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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mishsofil's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Certain scenes were definitely an uncomfortable read, as expected with Murakami… Otherwise the pacing was quite good once i got into it, I liked jumping between the different stories and seeing them connect by the end!

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