Kafka on the Shore

ByHaruki Murakami & Philip Gabriel

Release Date: 2005-01-18
Genre: Literary Fiction

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 814 Ratings

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and one of the world’s greatest storytellers comes “an insistently metaphysical mind-bender” (The New Yorker) about a teenager on the run and a deceptively simple old man.

Now with a new introduction by the author.

Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey.

“As powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.... Reading Murakami ... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion.”—Chicago Tribune

Reviews

Intriguing
5
By sprojak
It’s believable and unbelievable and it kept me interested throughout the book. Loved the main characters.
Im shook
5
By alfredooviedo
I will need years to process what I read. Thank you murakami
Interesting, Graphic, and Odd
3
By Carolyn 0846
So, funny story. I only started reading this book because I needed a novel to write an essay over for my AP lit class.

Let’s just say I went in basically completely blind for what this book was about, and now I wish I did more research before choosing it as my novel. 🥲

The book is extremely interesting and bizarre. And very descriptive and occasionally graphic in some areas (I understand why my school library didn’t have this book on its shelves…)

There are many themes in this book that it’s hard to know exactly what this book is trying to say. Maybe it’s trying to say how humans have an innate nature that they can’t shun away, or maybe it’s trying to say how concepts like love are bizarre at their core and truly have no physical concrete meaning.

I honestly don’t know. 🤷‍♀️ Maybe that’s the entire point. Some things in life we just can’t understand, but we can still feel the meaning behind them.

Anyway, this book was certainly a unique read. Not really into the sex scenes that show up occasionally, especially around the 60-70% mark. That was really off putting for me. 😭

If anyone reads this review (and honestly props to you for reading so far), if you like bizarre books with many themes and unique characters, then this might be the book for you. Just make sure to remember that the read will certainly be a unique one. ☝️
A must read!
5
By jco0114
A wonderful and suspenseful story that keeps you thinking about the characters and story line long after you finish reading.
Good
4
By 濱畑は
I enjoyed the twists and turns this story led me through. If you have read any of Haruki Murakami’s books you’ll not be surprised with where the story goes. I enjoyed reading it but I do feel like there is a lot of holes in the story and also the way he writes women is not nice to say the least.
Stunning.
5
By Baui F.
This is the fourth book I’ve read by Haruki Murakami. One of the few authors I can somewhat digest and understand. I’m no literary genius but I can say this book is perfect, the surrealism and randomness is perfectly staged as you walk across the pages. The two paths made by two parties as they follow their own paths of fate is written just perfectly. Haruki Murakami can always deliver something beautiful.
It’s perfect
5
By Targantuan
Absolutely brilliant. I want everyone I know who’s is smart or spiritual in any sense to read it.
Absolutely riveting
5
By luke.salgado
The slow but steady increase in character development is truly captivating and filled with gasconade. Every page gives the feeling of being in his world and story. So much so that I feel every emotion to the bone.
Loved it
5
By rebeccaejohnson
This is one of the books that turned me into an avid reader.
Bizarre, unique, and absolutely incredible
5
By fun app 03
I’m not a big fan of introspective reading— I like psychological works, but a lot of stuff gets too pretentious for me. While I do have my gripes with this book (namely the writing of women, which I think become obvious for most people after they’ve read it), this was a really incredible experience to read and it changed my perspective.