Reviews with content warning for Death - Kafka på stranden

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.

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

clusterf_cked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

kazutooth's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.25

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