Murakami Haruki: Kafka On The Shore

[Bjorn]

Kafka on the Shore

A teenager, a little too caught up in himself as teenagers tend to be, runs away from home. A confused old man commits a murder (maybe). An aging woman writes down her memoirs in a library where time seems to stand still.

Kafka on the Shore is a fascinating book that's difficult to pin down; like the cats that keep appearing throughout, it doesn't seem to have a fixed structure (ever try to hold on to a cat that doesn't want to be held?) and doesn't give up all its secrets. This is the sort of story I keep hoping for and so far have never gotten out of Canongate's myth project; while it's heavily intertextual, referencing and building on both ancient myths (Theseus, Orpheus, Oedipus), newer literature (Kafka, Conrad, Eliot, Salinger), music, corporate logos... it's often so overtly metaphorical that it even has the characters point out that life is just a metaphor; the fourth wall is never outright broken, but the characters occasionally brush up against it. It mixes in ingredients from fantasy and science fiction (UFOs, gateways to alternate realities, interspecies communication) and, come to think of it, pretty much follow's Campbell's The Hero's Journey almost perfectly. It's built on myths, on things that have come before, on things that have been proven to have universal relevance.

And yet at the same time, it's such a unique and beautifully told story. It takes a handful of outsider characters and makes them come alive when they run into each other. Kafka, the 15-year-old runaway; Oshima, the hermaphrodite forever trapped in between; Nakata, the old and slightly backwards man who cannot read or even remember his own past; Hoshino, the young lorry driver with no fixed point in life; and Saeki, the middle-age woman who might just be the central character here. Their stories slowly weave together while at the same time unravelling... not their pasts as much as what MAKES a past, the experiences and memories that make us human and make us relate to others. Having only read one of Murakami's fictional works before - Norwegian Wood - I get the feeling that this is sort of a central pillar of his storytelling; we are the result of what we experience, but also of what we make of those experiences.

There's one conversation in the book where one of the characters talks about a piece of music by Schubert, saying that the problem with it is that the piece as it's written is flawed - or rather, quite simply boring. And being a finished composition, the structure is already there and can't be ignored if you want to play it. The challenge to the musician playing it, therefore, is to put his or her own spin on it and MAKE it interesting. Somehow I don't think he's just talking about music.

It's lyrical, enigmatic, and still somehow strikingly straight-forward at times. This is only the third Murakami I've read, but the first two have remained with me for years and I've no doubt this one will as well. 4/5.

[Sybarite]

I'm just over half way through it, having bought it on the back of your review, Bjorn.

I'm loving it.

Thanks.

[cuchulain]

Strange. Murakami's recent novel won almost universal praise. But I didn't like it nearly as much as his earlier work. Have been reading him for some time, now. Pretty much everything I could get my hands on. Only one I haven't read is his Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I believe. Which many fans think is his best. Saving that for last . . . .

I prefer Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood to Kafka on the Shore. Wild Sheep Chase is wonderful as well. As is Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Though it's probably the most devoid of irony and humor. Perhaps the "coldest" of his books.

An excellent companion book is Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words. He's one of Murakami's translators, and does an excellent job discussing its difficulty.

[Sybarite]

Having now finished it, I think that Bjorn's review is excellent.

I'd add that Murakami himself has said of the book: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction, the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader."

So in other words, it becomes a mirror held up to the life of the reader: what it divulges depends, in part at least, on the experiences of the individual holding the book.

There are unanswered questions in the novel that don't feel answerable in this way ? not least the entire issue surrounding the Johnnie Walker character: why?

But I can't remember a book that has driven me to finish it in such a way. And I cannot remember such an intensely emotional response to characters and their respective fates as with this book. Extraordinary.

[cuchulain]

Having now finished it, I think that Bjorn's review is excellent.

I'd add that Murakami himself has said of the book: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction, the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader."

So in other words, it becomes a mirror held up to the life of the reader: what it divulges depends, in part at least, on the experiences of the individual holding the book.

There are unanswered questions in the novel that don't feel answerable in this way ? not least the entire issue surrounding the Johnnie Walker character: why?

But I can't remember a book that has driven me to finish it in such a way. And I cannot remember such an intensely emotional response to characters and their respective fates as with this book. Extraordinary.

Have you read anything else by him?


Again, as I mention above . . . I'd recommend his earlier work. Especially Dance Dance Dance; The Wild Sheep Chase; and Norwegian Wood. The last in that list is probably the most "traditional" and least "Murakamish" of all his novels. But I love it just as much . . .

[Gem]

Out of all of his books I have read so far,Wind Up Bird Chronicle was the best with Kafka on the Shore coming a close second.

Cuchulain, why did you prefer those to Kafka on the Shore?
I did adore Norwegian Wood - it is simpler/quieter than the others and that sadness that runs through it was pretty touching, but I liked that Kafka was not so clear cut, it divided my opinions of it throughout the reading.

[cuchulain]

Out of all of his books I have read so far,Wind Up Bird Chronicle was the best with Kafka on the Shore coming a close second.

Cuchulain, why did you prefer those to Kafka on the Shore?
I did adore Norwegian Wood - it is simpler/quieter than the others and that sadness that runs through it was pretty touching, but I liked that Kafka was not so clear cut, it divided my opinions of it throughout the reading.

It's hard to really express. I just had the feeling when I read it that Haruki wasn't as into making it all work together as in his other books. It didn't strike me as fresh or as original as his other books. Nor as believable as a world unto itself.

Of course, he uses fantasy and surrealism and elements of magical realism in his novels anyway . . . but . . . . I was always taken in by that creation . . . and got to love the usual signs of Murakami's universe . . . I talk about some of those here. It's just that I wasn't convinced.

Perhaps it's me. Perhaps I'm just losing my ability to suspend disbelief to the degree necessary. But I don't think so. Cuz I didn't have that issue with his earlier books . . .

Again, it may just be me.

[Sybarite]

Have you read anything else by him?

No ... although I'm highly likely to read more after this.

Again, as I mention above . . . I'd recommend his earlier work. Especially Dance Dance Dance; The Wild Sheep Chase; and Norwegian Wood. The last in that list is probably the most "traditional" and least "Murakamish" of all his novels. But I love it just as much . . .

I'll bear those recommendations in mind, Thank you.

[cuchulain]

No ... although I'm highly likely to read more after this.



I'll bear those recommendations in mind, Thank you.

I'll be very interested in your reactions to his other books.

He's one of my favorite contemporary writers. Few writers hold my attention throughout the book like he does . . . .

[Gem]

It's hard to really express. I just had the feeling when I read it that Haruki wasn't as into making it all work together as in his other books. It didn't strike me as fresh or as original as his other books. Nor as believable as a world unto itself.

Of course, he uses fantasy and surrealism and elements of magical realism in his novels anyway . . . but . . . . I was always taken in by that creation . . . and got to love the usual signs of Murakami's universe . . . I talk about some of those here. It's just that I wasn't convinced.

Perhaps it's me. Perhaps I'm just losing my ability to suspend disbelief to the degree necessary. But I don't think so. Cuz I didn't have that issue with his earlier books . . .

Again, it may just be me.

Excellent article!
By the same token, it could just be me. Kafka on the Shore was my first Murakami and was therefore to me very fresh and orginal, plus like any first it holds a special place and acted as a gateway into his other books.
Have you ever read anything by Kazuo Ishiguro? I'm thinking in particular of The Unconsoled.

[cuchulain]

Excellent article!
By the same token, it could just be me. Kafka on the Shore was my first Murakami and was therefore to me very fresh and orginal, plus like any first it holds a special place and acted as a gateway into his other books.
Have you ever read anything by Kazuo Ishiguro? I'm thinking in particular of The Unconsoled.

Thanks.

That makes sense. About it being first. It's something I should consider when I view his works, or any writer's, actually.

Have not read Ishiguro. Though I have his When we Were Orphans in paperback. Someone I need to read. There is consensus regarding his talent.

Thanks for the reminder!!

[Sybarite]

... Kafka on the Shore was my first Murakami and was therefore to me very fresh and orginal...

My experience too. It'll certainly lead me to read more of his work, though. And cuchulain ? I'll post my response on any future Murakami here.

[cuchulain]

My experience too. It'll certainly lead me to read more of his work, though. And cuchulain ? I'll post my response on any future Murakami here.

Interesting to think about what order we read works. How one book can influence the rest. How that can change the way we view subsequent works by the same author. Of course, there is no "right" way to read, as far as the order goes . . . .

Anyway, looking forward to your thoughts on more of his books . . .

[SilverSeason]

Interesting to think about what order we read works. How one book can influence the rest. How that can change the way we view subsequent works by the same author. Of course, there is no "right" way to read, as far as the order goes . . . .

It shouldn't matter, except that maybe it does. First I read Kafka on the Shore and found it hypnotic: the characters, the settings, the cats, everything. Now I have completed my second Murakami, The Wind--up Bird Chronicle, and I find repetitions and echoesfrom Kafka. Except that Bird came first, although it doesn't feel that way to me.

[cortazar]

Wow! Murakami fans unite. I'm a pretty big fan of Murakami having almost everything he's has published into English of a fictional nature.

I really enjoyed Kafka On The Shore but then I have a love of fantasy too. For anyone who doesn't know it won him the World Fantasy Award, which is a reasonably prestigious award for that Genre.

Wind Up Bird is weird but I really enjoyed that book too.

When I get time I'll have to post more on Murakami. For those not aware, Wild Sheep Chase is part of a Rat trilogy of books, the earlier ones esp. Pinball 1973 is extremely hard and expensive to obtain. Partly because Murkamai was never happy about having it published into English and made available to a wider audience as he's always regarded it as weak compared to many of his later novels. These were essentially his first novels.

Cheers...

[Daniel del Real]

I have to say Kafka on the Shore is my favorite Murakami, altough it was also the first one I read.
I cannot wait to have his new title published. I think is out in Japan this summer, and as it is a huge volume they say, we'll have to wait a little to have the translation.

[Kaefka]

I wish I were younger and innocent of reading all of Murakmi's novels.

But reality being otherwise, I have to say that Kafka on the Shore seems like a kind of atonement for Sputnik Sweetheart; I feel that Murakami deals with the same knotted themes in Kafka as in his earlier book, he comes close to solving the problems he presents himself, but again falls short. He can be, of course, easily forgiven, this is after all post-modernism, but it still left me a little exasperated.

Murakami recycles heavily his themes and characters over his novels, and you can feel him develop the same character types deeper from book to book. This is both a good and bad thing. Good in that if we like the characters we can treat his books as a cycle; and obviously bad in that it is repetitive.

Of course Murakami realizes this (as do all authors) and that he has to foray into new ground, 'After Dark' & 'South of the Border West of the Sun' are good examples of him trying new things. I hope 1Q84 will signify a final breakaway from the old and tried

[waalkwriter]

Tell me about it; worth putting on my reading list? I loved Oe's Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids.

[Bjorn]

Tell me about it; worth putting on my reading list?

I moved your post to the existing Kafka On the Shore thread. And yes, IMO it's definitely worth reading.

[Daniel del Real]

Tell me about it; worth putting on my reading list? I loved Oe's Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids.

Of course, go for it! Best Murakami I've read.