"Tutti perdiamo continuamente tante cose importanti. Occasioni preziose, possibilità, emozioni irripetibili. Vivere significa anche questo. Ma ognuno di noi nella propria testa ha una piccola stanza dove può conservare tutte queste cose in forma di ricordi. Un po' come le sale di una biblioteca, con tanti scaffali. E per poterci orientare con sicurezza nel nostro spirito, dobbiamo tenere in ordine l'archivio di quella stanza: continuare a redigere schede, fare pulizie, rinfrescare l'aria, cambiare l'acqua ai fiori. In altre parole tu vivrai per sempre nella tua biblioteca personale." ( )

I don't think Murakami is for me.
Enjoyed Nakata's story.
The reading experience was enjoyable, and I was hooked in by the beginning, but in the end I left feeling no real impression and like I "didn't get it." ( )

Le livre se lit facilement de par le style, mais les énigmes que laisse l'auteur laissent assez perplexe, et j'avoue ne pas avoir toujours tout compris où il voulait en venir. ( )

Upon now a THIRD READ (Mar-Apr 2020), after that second read (Nov-Dec 2018), this is definitely still a 5*. It's difficult to categorize or even summarize, but the narrative draws one in to itself and makes one think about possibilities.
Come to think of of it, I'd been thinking that this was my FOURTH time reading this.

(First read: Jan.2014?) An extremely interesting read. Not quite sure how to describe it overall, but the idea that the characters can enter into and are part of an alternate reality and timeline gives one cause to really think about what one assumes is really is. I was a bit confused though over the last sequence of Hoshino, the truckdriver. All in all... highly recommended. ( )

This was the first novel by Murakami I've read. The book is what I'd call magic realism if it had been written by a Latin American. Strange and excellent. ( )

And again I was blown away with a Murakami book. I love the strangeness in his books in such a way that I feel removed from my surroundings and live in the strangeness of Murakami's world.... ( )

This review contains no specific spoilers, but like any review it is impossible to evaluate a book after reading it without revealing something about it (it is a review after all and NOT A TEASER, goodreads should be clear about that). Therefore read at your own risk.
It was the first Haruki Murakami book I have read. I classified it as fantasy for lack of better tag. I have seen Haruki Murakami movie adaptations before and maybe they are better classified as science fiction. Anyway this book was very engaging. The reading was fluid and I never got bored. What I may complain about is the lack of coherence and many loose ends, but it was done on purpose I am almost sure. Some people like it so, but I prefer more coherence and closure when finishing a book. Unfortunately I didn't get that from this book. ( )

Weird. So weird, but I like the most of it. ( )

My first Murakami was the "Wind-up bird chronicle" which I read about 3 years back. That was one of the most extraordinary book reading experiences of my life - that book pulled me into it in a way that no other book ever has. It also wrung me out to the extent that I swore to lay off Murakami and *had to read* his entire oeuvre (a logical inconsistency that wouldn't bother any Murakami reader).

Last week, I finally mustered enough courage to tackle this, my second Murakami. The novel, by Murakami's own admission, has several riddles wrapped up in a surrealistic haze. Never mind solving the riddles - it isn't even very clear what the questions are. Still Murakami's fluid prose and interesting characters are enough to keep the pages turning. But overall, this one wasn't as hyper-immersive a reading experience as "Wind-up bird chronicle" and all the weirdness was a little too weird for my tastes. An excellent review of the novel and its sub-texts (spoilers galore) can be found here - http://idefiningi.blogspot.in/2011/01/reason-n-kafka-on-shore-review.html. Until next time, Mr. Murakami... ( )

A masterpiece. The style, the density of every character, the rythm, the mythology, the details... This book puts itself as far from others as a three stars chef's signature dish is away from the canteen's. ( )

I want to give this book a 4.5 so I rounded up. I can see that you either like this book or you don't. I guess I was in the right frame of mind as I enjoyed the weirdness and the symbolic notes within. I thought I had the whole end figured out, but was one-off and still not completely sure I understand. That said, I still came out satisfied with reading this unusual tale. ( )

this started out pretty good and then got progressively weirder, which was hard for me. but it was still interesting. i'm not sure i take much from it or could even say much about what it's about but it was still okay and makes me more willing to read others by him. (was not impressed by the sex scenes, though, or many of the strange discussions. really once this got going, i wasn't much into the writing style either, but it wasn't hard to read or a slog, just not anything special. the story was strange enough, while not being too strange, to pull me along. until toward the end when i was already invested enough, and then it got quite strange, which i suppose he's sort of known for.) thematically i think this wasn't for me, especially the oedipal stuff and how i felt like he was stretching to make that story fit, but other parts of this were nice.

"'...reality's just the accumulation of ominous prophecies come to life.'" ( )

Kafka Tamura is a fifteen-year-old boy who has run away from his Tokyo home to flee his emotionally abusive father. Having been abandoned by his mother and older sister when he was a small boy, Kafka sets off on an ill-defined and poorly planned quest to recapture the family life he never really had and to escape the modified Oedipal curse his father has placed on him (i.e., Kafka is destined to kill his father and sleep with both his mother and his sister). Satoru Nakata is an elderly man also in search of something he does not fully understand. After an unexplained illness suffered in childhood leaves him intellectually impaired and with no memories—but with the ability to speak to cats—Nakata has spent his life as a ward of the state, but now senses that he is destined for another purpose. After a violent event causes him to leave Tokyo as well, Nakata’s journey takes him to the same town in the south of Japan where Kafka is now hiding from the law. How—and why—will the paths of these two men intersect?

In Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami has created this inventive coming-of-age tale, which is at once intellectually challenging and fully engaging at every turn of its serpentine plot. The main challenge for the reader is that the story is told in a magical realism style where myriad bizarre things occur: memories and dreams become real, fish rain down from the sky, evil spirits take the form of famous corporate symbols (e.g., Johnnie Walker, Colonel Sanders), soldiers from World War II wander a lost forest for sixty years without aging, ghosts of still-living characters appear randomly. However, this all makes sense in the end as the major conflicts are resolved in an emotionally fulfilling manner. The narrative is greatly enhanced by an interesting stylistic choice in which the main characters’ stories are developed in alternating chapters—Kafka’s written in the first-person present, Nakata’s in the third-person past—which allows them to eventually converge smoothly from very different starting points and perspectives.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, as I have everything I have come across from this remarkable author. Murakami is an imaginative and truly gifted storyteller and the facile way in which he integrates such fantastical elements into the mix is quite impressive. Magical realism is a difficult style to pull off convincingly but, like other modern masters of that tricky genre (e.g., Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie), he does so here skillfully. I also admire the clear love and compassion that Murakami has for his characters, who are fully realized creations that the reader comes to care about quite a lot. Impressively, that care is evident not only in how the main characters were created, but in the development of the impressive and memorable supporting cast as well, including Miss Saeki, Oshima, Sakura, Hoshino, and a host of cats, all of whom play pivotal roles in how the narrative unfolds. This was a captivating and extremely satisfying book to read and the story is not one that I will soon forget. ( )

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami takes you into a magical world where people have feelings to express. The plot had a very unusual start, with the life of a 15-year-old boy. Murakami's writing is wonderful, capturing each character's emotions and depth. Nakata's character was the most different one. I just loved how the story finally connected itself with the happenings. But, somewhere, too many unanswered questions were left at the end. The world created by the author was unbelievable and wonderful. I wish this book would have never ended, as there are so many layers to the story.

Although I couldn't grasp some of Kafka's life, the book still made a wonderful impression. And the idea of traveling through a dream was just something else. Indeed, Murakami's writing leaves readers with lingering questions as he weaves together surreal elements and philosophical musings that can be captivating. Definitely, the book deserves 5 stars. ( )

Surrealistic page-turner where each of the two intertwined stories is as absorbing as the other and the text is peppered with music, philosophical and literary references, enough to create a new booklist. ( )

I liked this book. I feel like it struck the right balance of weird magical realism and logical plot that you felt swept along by the story without being frustrated by the randomness (as in Wind Up Bird). I would only recommend this to people who like fiction, however, as nonfiction buffs will definitely find it tedious. ( )

"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami is a puzzling and captivating novel that enlaces multiple narratives, blurring the lines between reality and dreams, and exploring themes of identity, loneliness, and the search for meaning. The premise is brilliant: Kafka Tamura, a teenage boy who runs away from home to escape his father's curse, and Nakata, an elderly man who lost his memory in a childhood accident and possesses the ability to communicate with cats. Filled with mysterious occurrences, symbolic imagery, and philosophical musings, Murakami's prose is richly atmospheric, drawing readers into a surreal world where magical realism and mundane reality coexist seamlessly while inviting the reader to ponder the nature of existence and the interconnectedness of all things. It’s strength is that it does not provide easy answers or neatly tie up its narrative threads. Murakami revels in ambiguity, leaving many questions unanswered and encouraging interpretation of the story's events in a unique and immersive way. ( )

I enjoyed this story, but there was too much gratuitous sex for my taste. ( )

I’m having a difficult time trying to explain the 3 stars. Lots of people love this book. It just wasn’t for me. Before Kafka on the Shore, I only knew Murakami through his short stories...stories I loved! So I’m not sure what happened with this book...it was mostly a page turner, but I grew bored toward the end. ( )

What a wonderful, surreal, weird book. I loved every minute of it, but I couldn't begin to tell you what it's about. ( )

This is very enjoyable, but slightly frustrating, Murakami. So much stuff just doesn't quite come together enough. I've read a bit around the book afterwards, which suggests that maybe there is some underlying meaning; but I also haven't found that structure, so I suspect maybe there really isn't. Still very enjoyable, though not great as an entry-level book. More in the vein of Hard-Boiled Wonderland than Wind-Up Bird or Norwegian Wood. ( )

Philosophical, mysterious and mind blowing. ( )

What the actual fuck did I just read? Alice in Wonderland: emo version????? I feel like I need to read this book a couple times a year for the rest of my life, and then maybe by the time I'm dying, I'll be able to register some of it. Wow. ( )

Here we meet 15-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. (Barnes and Noble )
In that brief book blurb you get the dimension of another Murakami novel about journeys, awakenings and quests. I enjoyed the mesmerizing atmosphere where this 15 year old Kafka runs away from home and stumbles into people, a girl on the bus, a young man in the library, and the woman who owns the library where he takes up residence and may have found his mother. It's a metaphorical Oedipal story that is juxtaposed with another man's plight who talks to cats and tries to confess to murder. To summarize it sounds strange and off putting but the narrative is rather compulsive. This is my second book by the author. I would recommend it to others, but will probably not continue to explore his other works. ( )

Un libro con tantos elementos y cada uno de ellos en su justo lugar y momento. Personajes entrañables como Nakata. Bibliotecas y uno mismo siendo una biblioteca. Gatos. Música. Cuervos. El bosque, el mar, la inmensidad. Hace mucho no me dolía la muerte de un personaje ficticio, creo que eso dice mucho de un libro y dice bien.

A veces me pregunto cómo hace Murakami para imaginar mundos tan complejos y atinar casi siempre, a veces entiendo por qué a muchos no gusta.

Este es quizá, junto con Tokio Blues y El fin del mundo y un despiadado país de las maravillas, mi libro favorito de Murakami. ( )