Kafka On The Shore

“Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loathe.” – Kafka On The Shore

Okay, I know this book was published in 2005 but I didn’t discover Murakami until last year. From my understanding, he was a well-kept secret in Japan for a long while before us Americans got our hands on him. I wanted to kick off my book review blog with a look into Murakami though, because he holds a special place on my bookshelf. There is something indescribable about the quality of his words and the weight they hold with me.

Before discussing Kafka on The Shore, allow me to backtrack. I began my Haruki Murakami journey with his supposed opus, The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Before even reading a word of the novel, a woman approached me in a coffee shop, saw the book and declared “Murakami’s writing defies gravity.” Maybe that has informed all of my thoughts on his works since, but I really think I would have arrived at that conclusion on my own. Certainly I would describe his writing as “dream-like”. I would also say that when I was finishing Kafka On The Shore a few weeks ago, the metaphors seemed to seep into my own life: having their own magical effect on my day-to-day experiences.

I should have prefaced that paragraph by saying that the way I view the world is quite metaphysical already. I ascribe meaning to ordinary events and tend to see reality as deeply magical in and of itself–which may make me the perfect Murakami reader. Murakami writes about the mundane in a very unique way, making even the smallest coincidences seem significant. There is no denying that Kafka On The Shore gripped me in the same way I was first gripped by The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. I have a soft spot for novels that contain thought provoking, mysterious nuggets of insight that I can internalize and sit with, ponder, dream of…Kafka was that.

Two major characters are followed throughout their intertwining journeys, and their stories are told in alternating chapters. 15-year old Kafka Tamura (whose real name is never mentioned) has run away from his home in Tokyo, as well as from his sculptor, cat-killing father, to escape an Oedipal curse and find his long-lost mother and sister. In his quest, he ends up taking shelter in a private library in Takamatsu where he becomes acquainted with the mysterious Miss Saeki and hospitable and intelligent Oshima.

The other main character, Mr. Nakata, is on a strange quest of his own. After being affected in his youth by a mysterious black-out in the forest, Nakata has never been quite the same. He lost his ability to read, but gained an ability to understand and speak with cats, which has allowed him the opportunity of part-time work as a finder of lost cats. One of the cases he is pursuing leads him far away from home, on a journey in which he meets and travels with a truck driver named Hoshino.

As the chapters progress, the geographical locations and stories of both characters begin to converge in unpredictable ways.

The simplistic style of writing in Kafka on The Shore contrasts beautifully with the complicated themes running through the book. A favorite theme of mine being the intense power that music can have as a form of expression. The way it can thread unlikely characters together and connect them on a deeper level. As a music lover, this is something that profoundly speaks to me, and something I have experienced many times. As mentioned earlier, there are many metaphysical themes contained between these covers as well; not to mention Greek mythology, the virtue of self-sufficiency and (of course) the relationship between dreams and reality.

For those who have not picked up Murakami yet, I’d recommend letting go of any pre-conceptions you may have and just going for it. He is the kind of author whose words can be applied to any life in varying ways. It all depends on you.