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ccastilloa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
markake123's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
dargan18's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the strangest books I have ever read. At several points while reading this, including the ending, I said out loud to myself "What the fuck?" And yet I really enjoyed it and want to read more Murakami. It's a wild ride - super trippy, unexpected, comical at some points. Reading it felt like being inside a nonsensical but fun dream.
My biggest complaint was that the women in the book really only show up for sex scenes, all of which are super uncomfortable and not really important to the plot. That was annoying, but if you can stomach that, this is worth reading.
My biggest complaint was that the women in the book really only show up for sex scenes, all of which are super uncomfortable and not really important to the plot. That was annoying, but if you can stomach that, this is worth reading.
booksreadbydeepti's review against another edition
5.0
Book 14 of 2023 - Kafka on the Shore by Haruku Murakami - Experience filled with metaphors and mystique
Rating: 5 stars
This was the second book in the Murakami Marathon hosted by Bell Book & Candle Book Club. Having loved Norwegian Wood, I dived into this book with an open mind and open heart.
This book was definitely different from Norwegian Wood, with a structured plot mixed with many narratives with dream-like sequences which got me into a wormhole when I really wanted. The first part of the book was a bit confusing to get used to, but slowly it picks up and I just couldn't stop reading it.
Sometimes there were other dark books which started pulling me into a slump, this book was right there along the way, with something crazy to wake me up like a slap in my face lol. Yes there are jarring parts, but I had already accepted them in Norwegian wood, even though some were hard to stomach, but the experience kept me going.
The discussion experience was wonderful too, people had many different interesting perspectives like Pink Floyd’s album cover, Cat connections, Johnie walker’s prophecy and so many more, made the reading experience much more satisfying. The meetings became a highlight.
Hoshino and Oshima were two of my favourite characters, something about their thoughts, character arcs and introspections were so beautiful to read, they were full of mystique but so deep in their own way. I sometimes felt like being in a trance.
The book was an experience which I will always remember, a pick me up when I was feeling off. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is open to experiencing the book*wink*.
Rating: 5 stars
This was the second book in the Murakami Marathon hosted by Bell Book & Candle Book Club. Having loved Norwegian Wood, I dived into this book with an open mind and open heart.
This book was definitely different from Norwegian Wood, with a structured plot mixed with many narratives with dream-like sequences which got me into a wormhole when I really wanted. The first part of the book was a bit confusing to get used to, but slowly it picks up and I just couldn't stop reading it.
Sometimes there were other dark books which started pulling me into a slump, this book was right there along the way, with something crazy to wake me up like a slap in my face lol. Yes there are jarring parts, but I had already accepted them in Norwegian wood, even though some were hard to stomach, but the experience kept me going.
The discussion experience was wonderful too, people had many different interesting perspectives like Pink Floyd’s album cover, Cat connections, Johnie walker’s prophecy and so many more, made the reading experience much more satisfying. The meetings became a highlight.
Hoshino and Oshima were two of my favourite characters, something about their thoughts, character arcs and introspections were so beautiful to read, they were full of mystique but so deep in their own way. I sometimes felt like being in a trance.
The book was an experience which I will always remember, a pick me up when I was feeling off. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is open to experiencing the book*wink*.
itsvikiduh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
alx7p's review against another edition
3.0
Ben scritto ed emozionante nella prima metà del libro. Metto 3 stelle per tutte le domande rimaste irrisolte e pessimo finale. Spero che il prossimo libro di Murakami sarà migliore.
lolz_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
quenchgum's review against another edition
5.0
kafka on the shore ended up being a really really great read. it’s surreal as hell—starts off as a rather normal story about a young boy running away and soon there’s all sorts of hallucinations (traveling spirits? parallel universes? altered realites?) dominating the story, the plot operating on both the tangible, normal universe and a fictional, surreal paradise. makes you wonder what’s real, to question the assumption that our reality has to be grounded in everyone else’s. “the world is a metaphor,” says one of the characters in the closing pages, and it’s true. our lives, our thoughts arent grounded solely in the atoms that surround us; they are composed and dominated by what we make of it, the realities that we construct. there’s a space, right at the edge of the earth, which we can take for our consciousness, where this all comes together. it’s a space where you reach self-realization, where you no longer passionately try to stop time and live in your small, static fantasy. but to access it, to reach to the proverbial depth of the forest, you need to give yourself up to it. no reservations. no defenses. just lose it. but once you’re there, boy……
clairescotia's review against another edition
4.0
That was a journey. (Also, spoiler warning).
I’ve been looking forward to this book for some time and was excited for the “metaphysical mind-bender” that was promised on the cover. I was not expecting an Oedipus Rex story blended with philosophical discussions of time, fate, virtues, memory and the ghosts or echoes we leave while we’re still living. “Kafka by the Shore” is truly unique and Murakami writes from an incredibly conceptual place. It’s thought provoking and easy to fall into.
However, the chapter with Johnnie Walker was hard to read, and so was the one with Sakura. I get why these exist, I get why Kafka needs to give into the prophecy to complete the cycle and correct Ms. Saeki’s “original sin” of opening the entrance to freeze herself in time with OG Kafka on the shore. I get that Kafka has OG Kafka as a part of him until the end of the story. I get that Ms. Saeki isn’t likely his mom, but a portion of his mom’s ghost is haunting her, like the OG Kafka is with our main character. I get that Sakura isn’t his biological sister, but his chosen one, and all of these elements play into the prophecy. I get it. I liked that you can interpret the book in different ways because of how layered it is. I thought it was interesting how Kafka described being pulled into fate. It was cool. I really enjoyed all of the elements surrounding the Oedipus plot. Didn’t love him sleeping with his “mother” or “sister”, even though I don’t think they were related by blood, but by spirit. It’s still gross.
I also understand that Johnnie Walker is Kafka’s connection to the spirit/metaphysical aspect of the story. I get that Kafka probably killed him because of the chapter where a boy named crow attacks him. I liked Kafka’s small mention of his father being “Johnnie Walker”, not the famous sculptor we saw reported on the news. I liked the small details. I appreciate the depth this story has.
But there’s so much extra story I don’t understand and can’t connect to other parts of it. Why was Kafka cursed by his dad? Is it because of Ms. Saeki’s original sin of freezing part of her spirit in time, or was JW just a sadist spirit who sculpted Kafka as an affect of Ms. Saeki messing with the entrance stone? What happened to all those children on the field trip? Did they cross over and come back, and what does that mean? Why was Nakata the only one who didn’t recover? Why is sex connected to the world beyond our own for every character but Nakata? And like, what was the point of the cat soul flute?!
At the end, the soldiers mentioned how to kill someone with a bayonet TWICE and it had no connection to the end of Kafka’s journey. Like, there are so many elements outside of the story that are hard to comprehend and make sense of, which is where this book falls short for me. I know the author said it was written to be read more than once, but I wish I understood some of the elements that I noticed but couldn’t piece together a bit more.
My biggest beef is - if you’re going to make me read a chapter about some sadistic being torturing cats in front of a sweet, mentally disabled man MAKE IT MAKE SENSE! I don’t want to read that ****! I guess he kind of explains the cats as a connection to the other world, but like, it doesn’t make sense and that chapter was gross. And it’s just disappointing I had to read that even though I don’t understand is deeper connection to the story.
Surrealism is harder to dissect and understand compared to other art forms. Which is kind of the point - the novel is deeply layered and connected in poetic ways we don’t quite understand until we’ve finished it. And like surrealist art, it has mystery beyond what we can visually take in. But unlike paintings or film, it’s hard for me to grapple with the parts of the story that feel so distant from the main plot. Everything has a connection, like that one truck driver said, but some of those connections aren’t as clear as I’d like them to be.
But I liked how interactive the story felt. It was stimulating and unique.
I’ve been looking forward to this book for some time and was excited for the “metaphysical mind-bender” that was promised on the cover. I was not expecting an Oedipus Rex story blended with philosophical discussions of time, fate, virtues, memory and the ghosts or echoes we leave while we’re still living. “Kafka by the Shore” is truly unique and Murakami writes from an incredibly conceptual place. It’s thought provoking and easy to fall into.
However, the chapter with Johnnie Walker was hard to read, and so was the one with Sakura. I get why these exist, I get why Kafka needs to give into the prophecy to complete the cycle and correct Ms. Saeki’s “original sin” of opening the entrance to freeze herself in time with OG Kafka on the shore. I get that Kafka has OG Kafka as a part of him until the end of the story. I get that Ms. Saeki isn’t likely his mom, but a portion of his mom’s ghost is haunting her, like the OG Kafka is with our main character. I get that Sakura isn’t his biological sister, but his chosen one, and all of these elements play into the prophecy. I get it. I liked that you can interpret the book in different ways because of how layered it is. I thought it was interesting how Kafka described being pulled into fate. It was cool. I really enjoyed all of the elements surrounding the Oedipus plot. Didn’t love him sleeping with his “mother” or “sister”, even though I don’t think they were related by blood, but by spirit. It’s still gross.
I also understand that Johnnie Walker is Kafka’s connection to the spirit/metaphysical aspect of the story. I get that Kafka probably killed him because of the chapter where a boy named crow attacks him. I liked Kafka’s small mention of his father being “Johnnie Walker”, not the famous sculptor we saw reported on the news. I liked the small details. I appreciate the depth this story has.
But there’s so much extra story I don’t understand and can’t connect to other parts of it. Why was Kafka cursed by his dad? Is it because of Ms. Saeki’s original sin of freezing part of her spirit in time, or was JW just a sadist spirit who sculpted Kafka as an affect of Ms. Saeki messing with the entrance stone? What happened to all those children on the field trip? Did they cross over and come back, and what does that mean? Why was Nakata the only one who didn’t recover? Why is sex connected to the world beyond our own for every character but Nakata? And like, what was the point of the cat soul flute?!
At the end, the soldiers mentioned how to kill someone with a bayonet TWICE and it had no connection to the end of Kafka’s journey. Like, there are so many elements outside of the story that are hard to comprehend and make sense of, which is where this book falls short for me. I know the author said it was written to be read more than once, but I wish I understood some of the elements that I noticed but couldn’t piece together a bit more.
My biggest beef is - if you’re going to make me read a chapter about some sadistic being torturing cats in front of a sweet, mentally disabled man MAKE IT MAKE SENSE! I don’t want to read that ****! I guess he kind of explains the cats as a connection to the other world, but like, it doesn’t make sense and that chapter was gross. And it’s just disappointing I had to read that even though I don’t understand is deeper connection to the story.
Surrealism is harder to dissect and understand compared to other art forms. Which is kind of the point - the novel is deeply layered and connected in poetic ways we don’t quite understand until we’ve finished it. And like surrealist art, it has mystery beyond what we can visually take in. But unlike paintings or film, it’s hard for me to grapple with the parts of the story that feel so distant from the main plot. Everything has a connection, like that one truck driver said, but some of those connections aren’t as clear as I’d like them to be.
But I liked how interactive the story felt. It was stimulating and unique.
rtcrook's review against another edition
3.0
I quite genuinely could not tell you a single thing about the plot, but I don't think plot is really the point of this book. I did enjoy it, but I don't feel like I gained much from it either.