Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami: Enjoy the Unknown

I guess now I realize why people like and dislike Haruki Murakami. it’s a love-hate relationship. Enjoy the unknown, because you’ll be left with more questions than answers.

It was about a lot of things. It is meant to be experienced. there are many weird things in the book, and they are supposed to not make sense. it’s original. it’s like surreal dream. it’s an experience in itself.

This was my first Murakami book and I didn’t know his writing style and genre. I guess after reading all reviews and summaries, I’m at ease with my confusions. everyone felt the same as me. a lot remains unexplained. a lot remains open for interpretation. so many questions.

Review

The novel is a mix of the concept of reality and dreams, the boundary between the conscious and unconscious mind is present, but while reading I’ve often wondered what reality is, and even knowing the answer, it didn’t help much, because honestly, it is a very confusing story.

I loved all the pieces of philosophy thrown in and the goofy relationship between Hoshino and Nakata. This book was great, and I would love to discuss it!

Murakami has to be the epitome of “it’s about the journey, not the destination.”

Writing Style:

What you get at first, in the beginning, is what seems to be two very different and zero correlation plots happening concurrently and as the plot develops you slowly unravel the interconnecting fates between our two main protagonists. Random details that was laid out to you in prior chapters come back and start to interlock together to converge the narratives together, just as seamlessly the physical world and spiritual world touched in his novel, to even the author’s writing blending in fantastical elements with realism.

Postmodern genre:

You will rarely get any explanation of Murakami’s stories. It is what it is and it is the beauty of it lol. His genre is postmodern, and by that, you should not expect very concrete explanations and predictable plots. Postmodernists allow the readers to use their reasoning and create their own interpretations. Murakami’s books speaks to our lives, and our lives are different so there will be different interpretations.

Things I loved in particular

I loved…..Kafka and Oshima’s bookish nature,
Books and library,
Metaphors.
Music Taste,
Sexual Aspects,
Cats, and their conversations,
Oshima’s character and thinking,
How Hoshino decided to explore the journey with Nakata,
Hoshino’s realization and new meaning that he found and realized compared to his old life,
When Hoshino found new music, coffee shop…and times he wandered when Nakata was asleep.

Some Quotes (will add more later)

Embrace The Storm:
Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step.

And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

— — — — —

True Inner Strength:
“The strength I’m looking for isn’t the kind where you win or lose. I’m not after a wall that’ll repel power coming from outside. What I want is the kind of strength to be able to absorb that outside power, to stand up to it. The strength to quietly endure things — -unfairness, misfortune, sadness, mistakes, misunderstandings.”

— — — — -

“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That’s part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads — at least that’s where I imagine it — there’s a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in awhile, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you’ll live forever in your own private library.”

— — — —

That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I’m driving. I might want to close my eyes and die right then and there. But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of — that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging.”

— — — —

I really want to rate it 4 stars but I can’t. I think it’s 4.5 for me. Initially, It was 5 stars for me but after reading reviews and summaries, I want it to be 4 because there aren’t solid takeaways from this. but then again, we shouldn’t expect “reason” and “takeaways” from everything.

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