REVIEW
Before we even begin to discuss what I love and dislike about the book, I want to first inform you that this book has quite a number of triggering contents, namely: assisted suicide/ involuntary manslaughter, juvenile intercourse, animal cruelty, bullying, assault and battery, and rape.
With that out of the way, let’s begin!
“”On my fifteenth birthday I’ll run away from home, journey to a far-off town, and live in a corner of a small library.”
You might be concerned whether I’m spoiling you with this bit or not — and the answer is no. I checked the synopsis before I placed this in, and it was indeed stated there. Anyway…
Any reader would think the same thought given the chance (at least in my case). ‘Cos who wouldn’t want to live in a corner of a small library in a far-off town, right? However, Kafka on the Shore is not just about Kafka Tamura, the 15-year-old boy who ran away to escape a prophecy given to him by his own father; it is also a story of an aging man who, through the onset of war, has become less — or could it be more? — than who he was.
What didn’t I like about this book? Yeah. Let’s start with the negatives, as I want this review to end good.
“Mr. Nakata, this world is a terribly violent place. And nobody can escape the violence. Please keep that in mind. You can’t be too cautious. The same holds true for cats and human beings.”
There isn’t much to not like in this book. The only thing I can probably state that rattled me was the amount of triggering contents this book contained. Each of them had their purpose in the story; however, I am in a roller-coaster of thoughts whether or not they were necessary at all — or, at least, some of them aren’t.
Another thing is the lack of concrete plot. It might be that I am not particularly intelligent for such a novel, but days have ebbed and flowed, yet I am still at an impasse whether the right question is: “Is there a plot,” or “what is the purpose of the book?” It is obvious that the plot is the running away and the eventual collision of the characters, aside from that, what did the story want to say?
What did I love about this book?
“I’m not a fast reader. I like to linger over each sentence, enjoying the style.”
One of the most interesting thing about this novel is how Murakami wrote the young protagonist. Reading the story did not feel juvenile at all; although, to be fair, our main character did have a more matured mind than your usual 15-year-old kid. Perhaps we may account this for his interest in literature, or maybe the lack of strong parental guidance left him at a place where he needed to live for himself.
My friend, Rish (@reader.rish) assimilated reading this as having a fever dream, and I can see why. There was a strong amount of chapter breaks in the novel that it made the narrative distorted. Murakami’s writing translated the bizarreness of Japanese media well in this book. If you’ve seen any Japanese marketing, or read any of their light novel, manga, or what-have-you, you’ll know that they do not hold back on the weird and this book served just that.
I got lost in this story that Murakami created. His power with storytelling is beyond me and I cannot think of any other work that can top how he told this story. There are so much contents in this book as well that a second run wouldn’t be a complete waste of time. You’ll find bits and pieces you didn’t initially thought of and, perhaps, that’s the best idea for me as well (considering I didn’t completely digest the plot of the book).
The dual perspective of the story amplified the interesting aspect of the book. It offers you questions as to how these two people are connected and what their eventual coming-together will be the effect in the story. Additionally, I find the injection of epistolary formatting a fun interaction. It gave us a firsthand experience of the flashbacks within the story and a grounding foundation to what led to the present.
“You’re afraid of imagination. And even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the responsibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep, and dreams are a part of sleep. When you’re awake you can suppress imagination. But you can’t suppress dreams.”
There’s so much to say about this book and the story it wants to tell. But, like Nakata, I am clueless as to how I will share it with you. All I can say is that I am mind-blown by Murakami’s talent in writing. It gave room for regret with not reading his works sooner, but it also opened a door to curiousity in reading more from him. I am well aware that this review of mine is truly discombobulated; however, I can confidently say to you that this book is nothing short of amazing, and that the brilliance of the storytelling consumed me enough to lose myself within the book. I only found myself back in reality after everything in the story ended.
