Kafka on the Shore, a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.
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Kafka on the Shore
By Haruki Murakami, J. Philip Gabriel
Kafka on the Shore, a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.
Popular Reviews(3)
Reviewed by 𝑨𝒏𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒂𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝑰 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌'𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔.
Reviewed by NuraIrgendwie ergibt alles Sinn, aber gleichzeitig auch nicht. Murakami hat eine sehr beeindruckende Art der Beschreibung und schafft sehr liebenswerte Charaktere (vorallem Nakata). Themen wie sprechende Katzen und Träume lassen das Buch in magischem Surrealismus kategorisieren. Auf der anderen Seite nutzt er vulgäre Ausdrücke und bezieht sich in diesem Buch sehr auf das Ödipuskomplex. Dadurch entstehen für den Leser unangenehme Stellen, jedoch haben auch diese eine Message dahinter . Aufgrund der wechselnden Perspektiven wird das Buch nicht langweilig und sollte daher auch für jeden ein Versuch wert sein.
Reviewed by lynn luanaKafka on the Shore von Haruki Murakami hat mich fasziniert, auch wenn es mich nicht völlig mitgerissen hat. Die Mischung aus Realität und surrealen, mystischen Elementen ist typisch Murakami und schafft diese ganz besondere, fast schon hypnotische Atmosphäre. Besonders gefallen hat mir die Figur von Nakata. Allerdings waren die vielen übernatürlichen und philosophischen Elemente manchmal auch schwer zu durchdringen. Es gab Passagen, die sich etwas gezogen haben oder so kryptisch waren, dass ich das Gefühl hatte, den Faden zu verlieren. Trotz allem war die Geschichte von Kafka und Nakata sehr fesselnd, auch wenn es manchmal schwierig war, alles zusammenzuhalten.