Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami

Wow. What a crazy book. I was immediately taken with Kafka on the Shore, and, despite its length of almost 500 pages, I tore though it. In fact, I even brought the book to work and read it at every opportunity, ignoring the mounds of grading growing around me.

Kafka involves a young runaway struggling to avoid his father’s curse. At the same time, he is seeking his long-lost mother and sister. This search draws him into a maze of complexities—animals talk, the past moves into the present, and ghost appear while their bodies are still alive.

After finishing, I was somewhat displeased with the book. First, the ending. The various loose ends were tied up but not all were satisfactorily explained. If they even were explained. Kafka’s plot is, at times, surreal and other-worldly; in a world like this, a clearer resolution is necessary, especially because it seems that Murakami does intend a satisfactory explanation. This lack of explanation is especially annoying because Murakami nicely explains several other crazy plot points. I estimate there are about six plot “quirks” that need to be in some way cleared up by the end. Of those, I would say two are explained satisfactorily. I could fudge another two if I had to. The remaining two? No clue. Of course, I admit that this is a book that requires more than one read to sound its depths. One other small complaint: the dialogue. At times, the dialogue seemed a bit stilted and unnatural, but it is impossible to tell whether this is the fault of Murakami or of the translator.

Despite these annoyances, I enjoyed the book overall. The likeable (though somewhat bizarre) characters felt real, even if the dialogue wasn’t always perfect. Kafka has inspired me to read more Murakami, which indicates how engrossing the book is.

In a nutshell: A great book even with a few flaws; it is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars.