Kafka on the shore

Livre conseillée par la bibliothécaire et on ne ressort pas tout à fait indemne de ce pavé de 600 pages... Globalement, le livre m'a plu même si j'ai mis beaucoup de temps à le lire, car c'est un roman riche à l'intrigue plutôt complexe. J'ai aimé le côté contemplatif et le rythme lent de l'intrigue, qui cependant ne comportait pas de blancs superficiels mais progressait lentement tout en conservant son suspense. Pour ce qui est de l'intrigue, on suit deux histoires parallèles et tout le long de la lecture on se demande en quoi elles sont liées. Ce qui commence par une histoire basique d'un adolescent qui fugue se transforme en véritable épopée philosophique et poétique, en prophétie dans un univers à la fois réaliste et magique, teinté par l'ambiance mystique du Japon. Ce qui m'a particulièrement plu est l'authenticité et la complexité des personnages : on a l'impression que ce sont des vraies personnes que l'on pourrait croiser dans la rue et leurs conversations sont tout à fait passionnantes. L'auteur traite de beaucoup de sujets profonds (j'ai bien aimé la façon dont il parle de la transidentité et de l'homosexualité) mais sait garder beaucoup d'humour dans les dialogues et certaines situations absurdes. Le duo composé de Nakata et Hoshino est vraiment touchant et j'aime également beaucoup le personnage d'Oshima qui agit comme un véritable guide rassurant. Le Garçon nommé corbeau est un concept intéressant. Cependant il y a des choses qui m'ont moins plus dans ce roman et qui m'ont parfois donné du fil à retordre : il y a quelques triggers qui m'ont gênées (sang, viol, sexe explicite, maltraitance animale, mort) qui sont toutefois justifiées par l'intrigue et ne m'ont pas semblés comme de la "violence gratuite". De plus, la sexualisation des personnages féminins m'a dérangé : il y a peu de personnages féminins et elles ne sont présentes que pour être l'objet des désirs d'un homme ou pour s'occuper d'eux comme bonne ménagère. Apparemment, ce serait un motif récurant dans les livres de cet auteur mais c'est le seul roman que j'ai lu de Murakami et je ne pourrais l'affirmer. Enfin, on n'a pas de réelle réponses à certaines questions à la fin de l'histoire, ce qui est un peu frustrant. Pour résumer, ce roman m'a fait méditer sur la vie et m'a transporté dans un univers étrange et intéressant, je le referme en ayant l'impression d'avoir fait un rêve...

5/5 My most cherished and most loathed book of all time.

disclaimer: writing this post 12 hours of travel, errors may be made

I originally read this book in year 11 after it caught my eye at a book fair. This was my very first Murakami read...

My initial reaction to this book was one of: repulsion and loathe—and yet I was hooked till the very end. Now that I have reread it I cannot say that has changed very much. Elements of it (I will not spoil but if you have happened to have read this book you will know exactly what I mean) are flat out despicable and in a sense, vile.

So what makes this story so special? Why does it get 5/5 despite my overt hatred towards great chunks of this novel?

Easy. Murakami's writing style—Murakami's writing style makes room for such despicable elements whilst still allowing you to appreciate his writing. By the end of this novel you are not left devising a better way for it to have ended, you are not thinking up ways you would have written certain characters differently. The story (technically, 2 stories) do not lack in any of the fundamental pillars a good novel rests on. The characters do not feel plastic or generic, the plots do not feel unnatural or rushed. Everything—and I mean everything—feels as if it's in its own place.

Oshima is not just your cliché slightly "sexually deviant" and "quirky" for his time librarian. Miss Saeki does not feel like your typical "mysterious, brooding" character with a "dark" past. Nakata does not act like your typical character that finds out they have a "gift/talent" that they can put to good use...

But above all, these characters are not merely defined by character descriptions and the dialogue they partake in—the very plot itself allows you to understand what these characters are really like and how they behave. It is all so neatly laced together, you cannot help but admire Murakami's writing.

There are certain intricacies that a sleep-deprived, jet-lagged person, such as myself, cannot really express—they must be consumed directly by the reader themselves—as to avoid the quality of such work.

Finally, it takes immense talent and skill to invoke such hatred and loathing from a reader towards your work and yet ~still~ have them hooked on till the very end.

Definite recommend and definite recommend to recommend—it is always interesting to see how different people reacting to Kafka on the Shore.

This is my first Murakami book. And I really liked his style of writing. Murakami has a knack for capturing beauty, mood, and scenery perfectly. And that is what stood out for me among all the magical realism and philosophical ideas in the book. Just like how reality can be modeled by mathematics in a much better way if imaginary numbers are used, with skillful writers like Murakami, magical worlds can convey the truth and real feelings better than hyper-realism. I do not claim to have solved all the riddles the plot posed, but I doubt that is the point of the book. Unlike his mastery of building and conveying the mood and beauty, Murakami's attempt at conveying philosophical ideas is not as successful. Some of the philosophical ideas unintentionally felt like funny philosophical arguments written by Douglas Adams. But that is just a minor gripe I have in an otherwise wonderful book. This book reminded me of the narrative style of the movie 'Mulholland Drive' by David Lynch. It has the same dreamy, interwoven narrative.

Recommended! I look forward to reading more Murakami books.

An epic, mythopoeic story skillfully woven by a man who clearly knows what's up. I loved all the characters involved here, how distinctly and uniquely they represented their associated ideas. They all had such strong, captivating voices, and the dialogue felt very natural. Hoshino and Nakata were hilarious together, and even though we only see Sada for a little bit, even he has a distinct personality. Such a wide array of wonderfully crafted interactions.

I loved all the irony and wordplay in use. So many laugh out loud moments full of insight and wit. I continue to love Murakami's use of language, and I suppose the work of his translators.

Interesting use of an intersex character. There was less common knowledge about the spectrum of gender when the story was written (2002), so it's still set in a rather binary way of perceiving gender. However it's still ahead of its time in recognizing that there are people out there who are born with biologically ambiguous sex, as in the case of intersex folks. And there's strong mythological symbolism in those who teach others to traverse boundaries--historical cases of transgender shamans, for example. My theory is that these people were seen to have mastered masculine and feminine energy, and the practice of achieving a harmonic flow between them. In that case, Kafka being taken under the wing of such a person is simply another signal of his heroic journey.

There's...well, not a lot, but there was more sex than I expected there to be in this story, lol. I had to ask why. Why add it at all? What is its function for the story? I tried to keep track of the context of each sexual situation. Metaphorically, sex is about union and the creation of something new. So what does it mean metaphorically when someone gives you a handjob to help you fall asleep? (I mean...that itself got me wondering why getting off helps one fall asleep and sleep deeper in the first place.) And the significance of a menstrual blood when a female character gets her period at a time when she's not supposed to, coupled with an erotic dream. There's definitely some ~cool metaphorical stuff~ going on with the sex here worth looking into.

It wouldn't be a review if I didn't get to one of my favorite archetypal characters, the trickster. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so without giving too much away, I'll just say... Colonel Sanders.

I was reading Kafka on the Shore,
at a coconut groove in Kanyakumari.

It was very windy, cloudy and just so perfect.
Amidst the sounds of the wind, if I try really hard
I could hear the waves crashing on the rocks
or was I imagining the ocean and the waves?
I am not sure, because as I said
I was reading Kafka on the Shore.
Time and reality behave strangely
when you read Kafka on the Shore.

The book is beautifully weird, just like us.

Hmm... I wish I had a getaway like Oshima's cabin.
I wish I lived at a quaint cosy library like Komura Memorial Library.

I wish...
I wish...

But then I remember,
I am not as brave as Kafka Tamura.
I was definitely not the bravest kid in the world when I was 15.
Nor am I the bravest person in the world even now.
Maybe not yet, I tell myself hopefully.

I made it through the second Murakami book I attempted, though it was difficult. I enjoyed the philosophical discussions and was interested in what was happening to Nakata, since it was so strange there was no way I could really understand it. But Kafka Tamura was annoying. I hated him. He gets an erection pretty much every time the story comes back to him, and he rapes a girl in his dream. Pretty bad start for a 15 year old I'd say. Miss Saeki in my eyes isn't much better. The only person that redeemed the book in my eyes was Oshima.

But I'll back up. With his mother having left when he was very young and feeling no connection to his father, Kafka Tamura runs away. His plans are methodical and dispassionate. Contrast this to Nakata, an elderly man who experienced a strange phenomenon when he was young and lost his ability to read. Nakata can talk to cats and is easygoing and carefree. In contrast to Kafka, Nakata has a purpose and a goal throughout the story, while Kafka goes around listless, getting horny all the time. What I found most interesting was a conversation Oshima has with Kafka about imperfect works of art and how they are enjoyable because they are imperfect. People are imperfect, everything is, and yet we can enjoy them nonetheless. This is, I think, the greatest thing I got from this book. I probably found this book decent overall, but the constant sexual references, as well as the explicit rape scene, mean I would not recommend this book to anyone I know.

I think I may have reached saturation point with Murakami as I didn't enjoy this one half as much as I did with his previous books. The usual stuff is still there, the magical realism, the cats, strange girls and emotionless male characters, what is missing is that brilliant writing and a strong story.

The dual stories are, Kafka Tamura a tedious 15yr-old emo kid, I hated him and this is probably why I didn't get into the book. Kafka just seems to whine and whine and people do stuff for him. The second story though is brilliant, I loved Satoru Nakata, such a gentle old man, he might have been short on mental faculties but he was far wiser than anybody else and his relationship with Hoshino was fun to read.

The biggest failing of this book was the sex scenes, I felt embarrassed for Murakami whilst reading it, the sex in fifty shades is better, that's how bad it is. It feels like Murakami has read a sex education book and gone "Oh, so that's what the penis does....well that's going in the book".

I would certainly recommend the previous books by Murakami, not sure I would recommend this one to anybody though.

I read this book after reading 1Q84, and I found certain similarities interesting.

This book had a slow start. The premise floats around alternating chapters of Kafka - a teen that has run away from home to live another life - and an event during WWII where a bunch of kids fell unconscious in Japan.

Though, in no time, both narratives ramp up into disjointed realities, violence, weird sex, and dreams. All dispersed between introspective pits for characters that wonder who their true selves are and if they could ever become who they feel they were meant to be.

There are so many cats in the world, and Siamese cats are the most sociably articulate and helpful. Carry sardines around if you plan to become a cat tracker. Word of advice: if you ever run into Johnnie Walker, it may be best to turn away.

I rotated between both the Audible audiobook and the paperback. The narration was fantastic. I would recommend either format.

Less than a week after completing this novel, I walked into my bedroom and was faced with a large slug slowly appearing from underneath my bed. Since this was my only opportunity, I didn't turn away. I let it crawl onto some tissue before I ran upstairs and dumped it into a carnivorous pitcher plant.

The next day, I verified that it was dead and being digested.

Great book. Meow.

Was ein Buch...

Wirklich schwierig zu durchdringen.

Ein paar Sachen die mir in Erinnerung geblieben sind:

Es gibt 4 Hauptpersonen in der Geschichte.

Kafka Tamura, Saiki-San, Nakata und Heishino.
Nakata ist um die 60 Jahre alt, liebenswürdig, gutmütig und geistig zurückgeblieben. Er kann weder lesen noch schreiben und versteht auch ansonsten nicht viel. Auch Erinnerungen sind für ihn schwer greifbar. Seine Leben nimmt eine schwerwiegende Wendung als er gerade 7 Jahre alt ist. Es ist 1944 in Japan, Zeit des zweiten Weltkrieges. Er ist mit einigen anderen Kindern aus Tokio aufs Land geschickt worden. An einem Tag macht seine Lehrerin mit ihm und der Klasse einen Ausflug. Die Schüler und die Lehrer erspähen im Himmel ein leuchtendes Flugobjekt (was es genau ist wird nie erläutert). Einige Minuten später fallen alle Kinder in Ohnmacht auf dem Berg. Sie sind in einer Art Hypnose. Alle Kinder bis auf Nakata wachen wieder nach kurzer Zeit auf, ohne sich an was erinnern zu können. Nur Nakata wacht erst 3 Wochen später auf und hat all seine Erinnerungen und seinen halben Schatten verloren. Im Buch wird dieses Ereignis durch Aufzeichnungen vom amerikanischen Geheimdienst vermittelt. Dieser hatte in den Jahren nach dem Krieg alle Personen mehrmals zu diesem Ereignis interviewt. Im frühen 19ten Jahrhundert gab es wohl 2-3 weitere solcher Fälle. Aber auch das wird nicht weiter erläutert. Die Lehrerin schreibt Jahre später dem verantwortlichen Militärarzt, dass sie eine Information zurückgehalten hat. In der Nacht vor der Wanderung hatte sie einen hocherotischen Traum von sich und ihrem damaligen Mann. Der Sex fühlte sich wie real an für sie. Am nächsten Tag setzte dann auf dem Berg ihre Periode auf einmal ein. Sie versorgte sich in den Büschen notdürftig. Als Nakata später ihre Blutgetränkte Unterwäsche fand und ihr zeigte schrie sie ihn an und schlug ihn.
Wir lernen Nakata kennen als er gerade Mitte 60 ist. Er lebt in Nakano Tokio von Sozialhilfe. Er kann seit seiner Kindheit mit Katzen sprechen und nutzt diese Fähigkeit um verschwundene Katzen von Nachbarn aus der Umgebung wiederzufinden. Eines Tages soll er Goma wiederfinden. Er erfährt, dass sie zuletzt auf einem abgelegenen Baugrundstück gesichtet worden ist. Nachdem er dort mehrere Tage ausharrt, erscheint ein schwarzer Hund der zu ihm spricht. Er folgt ihm zu einem Haus in dem eine Person mit dem äußeren von Johnnie Walker auf ihn wartet. Dieser erpresst ihn moralisch ihn zu töten, da er ansonsten Herzen aus Katzen bei lebendigen Leibe herausschneidet und verzehrt um eine magische Flöte zu bauen. Nachdem er ihn getötet hat, wacht er auf dem Baugrundstück ohne irgendwelche Anzeichen von Gewalt auf. Zudem hat er die Fähigkeit verloren mit Katzen zu sprechen.
Ab diesem Zeitpunkt verändert sich Nakata. Er sagt das Wetter vorraus, u.a. dass es Fisch regnen wird, und er hat auf einmal ein Ziel. Irgendwas sagt ihm, dass er nach Westen muss, um dort was zurecht zurücken. Ab dem nächsten Tag macht er sich dorthin per Anhalter auf und lernt Heishino kennen. Einen jungen Truckfahrer, der kurzerhand beschließt Nakata zu begleiten.

Der andere Faden der Geschichte dreht sich um Kafka und Saiki San. Kafka flüchtet mit 15 von daheim. An seinem 15 Geburtstag läuft er daheim von seinem Vater weg. Der Vater hat ihm sein Lebenlang prophezeit, dass Kafka ihn töten wird und er mit seiner Schwester und Mutter schlafen wird. Letztere kennt er nicht, da sie mit 4 Jahren aus seinem Leben verschwunden sind. Sein Vater war ein berühmter Skulpturbauer. Man erfährt nicht viel von ihm. Einmal haben sie einen Bluttest machen lassen, ob Kafka wirklich sein Sohn ist. Er beschreibt es so, dass sein Vater ihm zeigen wollte, dass er ein Werk von ihm ist. Das Skulptur erstellen, hat er angefangen nachdem er beinahe vom Blitz getroffen wurde.
Kafka geht nach Takamatsu und lernt auf der Busfahrt dorthin Saku kennen. Sie ist ein wenig älter als er und sie verstehen sich recht gut.Kafka ist ein paar Tage in Takamatsu bis er auf einmal abends sein Gedächtnis verliert. Als er wieder aufwacht ist sein TShirt voller Blut. Bei Saku findet er erstmal Unterschlupf, verlässt sie aber nach einem Tag wieder, da er sie zu sehr begehrt. In der Nacht vorher hat sie ihm einen runtergeholt, weil er einen Steifen hatte.
Er findet Unterschlupf bei der Bibliothekt Katamura. In dieser kann er arbeiten bei Oshima, dem transexuellen und Saiki-San.
Saiki-San ist um die 50 und wie sich später herausstellt seine Mutter. Sie hat mit 20 ihre große Liebe verloren. Ihren perfekten Gegenpart. toc

A bloated, uninteresting mess that needs at least a quarter of its length slashed away. At least.

I don’t usually give books as low of a rating as 1 star, but three things put me over the edge:

1. The treatment of Oshima is pretty damn appalling. Constantly treated as an ‘other’ for being a trans person (the word ‘trans’ is never mentioned). The narrative will occasionally misgender him. It’s gross.

2. Early in the book are interview transcripts describing an incident during WWII that we find out pertain to the character of Nakata. Other than the ‘twist’ that they provide, there seems to be no other point to them.

3. I don’t care if the novel is basing itself from Oedipus: the sex scenes are absolutely abominable. Sorry, but reading a description of a 15 year old having sex with a 50 year old woman who’s also his mother isn’t profound or artistic: it’s just skuzzy. This also goes for the tasteless and -disgusting- rape scene involving the older sister.

Ugh