Super Quick Book Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
This is a book you should definitely read. Along with all the historical events, the book uses stunning narrative to link multiple timelines together. It effortless captures the inner turmoils of the characters especially that of the teenage protagonist.
In a bid to escape his tyrannical father, one of the two protagonists, a young teenager, renames himself after his favourite author (Kafka) and runs away. However, he couldn’t outrun memories of his missing mother and the dreams that haunt his waking life. The other protagonist, Mr. Nakata, an older simpleton who lost his memory during the second world war (as a kid) gains a mysterious ability to talk to cats in return for losing his intellect. However, he is confronted by mysterious events, inter-dimensional portals, and megalomaniacs who he ultimately overpowers with the help of a young truck driver.
This book’s plot is designed like an intricate puzzle that has the elements of time travel, hidden histories, and magical underworlds. You’ll experience surreal literary whimsy with every chapter which oscillates between Kafka’s and Nakata’s POV (point of view.) You’ll be on this wild chase to arrive at the climax. The mind-bending imagery of the plot will make all the eerie coincidences (happening in the book) fit together.
The chapters alternate between Kafka and Nakata point of view which shows the contrast and the connection between the young, the old; the smart, the wise. Murakami’s knack for colliding different worlds is palpable throughout the narrative. Personal experience collides with supernatural possibilities with surreal material metaphors across the novel.
This book is one of the finest works of ‘magical realism’ which offers a way out of the problem rather than complicating things further. Once the book ends, you will be left marveling at the resourcefulness of the human spirit when it comes to dealing with the unexpected.
You’ll also probably have the epiphany: Keep moving forward, accept your inner confusion because the deeper you go, the more you find.
Happy reading!
