Kafka on the Shore

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Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore (2005)

615 pages

Published Nov. 3, 2005

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5 stars (2 reviews)

Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ, Umibe no Kafuka) is a 2002 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Its 2005 English translation was among "The 10 Best Books of 2005" from The New York Times and received the World Fantasy Award for 2006. The book tells the stories of the young Kafka Tamura, a bookish 15-year-old boy who runs away from his Oedipal curse, and Satoru Nakata, an old, disabled man with the uncanny ability to talk to cats. The book incorporates themes of music as a communicative conduit, metaphysics, dreams, fate, the subconscious. After the release of the book, Murakami allowed for questions about the novel to be sent in, and responded to many of them. The novel was generally well-received, with positive reviews from John Updike and the New York Times.

13 editions

reviewed Kafka en la orilla by Haruki Murakami

Magnifico

5 stars

Después de haber dejado pasar varios días desde que lo terminé, me siento con ánimo para reseñarlo. Me ha encantado, una obra muy simbólica que te deja huella. Muy bien escrito, 700 páginas que en ningún momento se hace tediosa. Unos personajes complejos de los que Murakami nos deja con ganas de saber más y una historia que trata aspectos personalísimos de la vida. Parece que no es la obra más representativa del autor, al que seguiré leyendo tras los buenos momentos que he pasado.

reviewed Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Review of 'Kafka on the Shore' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is my first Murakami book. And I really liked his style of writing. Murakami has a knack for capturing beauty, mood, and scenery perfectly. And that is what stood out for me among all the magical realism and philosophical ideas in the book. Just like how reality can be modeled by mathematics in a much better way if imaginary numbers are used, with skillful writers like Murakami, magical worlds can convey the truth and real feelings better than hyper-realism. I do not claim to have solved all the riddles the plot posed, but I doubt that is the point of the book. Unlike his mastery of building and conveying the mood and beauty, Murakami's attempt at conveying philosophical ideas is not as successful. Some of the philosophical ideas unintentionally felt like funny philosophical arguments written by Douglas Adams. But that is just a minor gripe I have in an …