A review by cheriepie
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

A contender for "most frustrating book I've read this year." Incredibly well-written with prose I am taken with and surrealism that I think is fantastic. Each chapter with Nakata is a breath of fresh air. Each Kafka chapter feels like a slog, with "I'm 15 and this is deep" level ideas. 

The idea of "fighting fate" but succumbing to it anyway is a through line of this book. As it starts, Kafka is running away to fight his Oedipal fate, which positions him as someone who's at the very least willing to try fighting it. This doesn't carry through the rest of the book -- I don't think Kafka tries ONCE to avoid the parts of the quasi-prophecy beyond running away. And I don't think that dissonance between what Kafka says and what he does is the point.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings