Wow, I think this is the first reread I've done where the book DROPPED in rating. I have always considered Kafka to be one of my faREREAD 2021 3/5stars
Wow, I think this is the first reread I've done where the book DROPPED in rating. I have always considered Kafka to be one of my favorite Murakami's, but to be completely honest, I really didn't enjoy my rereading experience. I'm not sure if it was because I personally was in a bad mental health space when i picked this up, or if it truly is just THAT different from what I remember, but this was definitely not what I was expecting to feel coming out of this reread.
When first reading this book I liked, like with all Murakami books, how weird it was, how confused it made me feel, and how unique the story is. But, upon reread, I found this book extremely easy to read, mostly plot focused, and I found myself not caring or straight up hating characters and plot arcs. Kafka is insufferable, the incest and sex is honestly just too much, the entire Oedipus Rex retelling aspect of this book is just a big ole' "WHY" in my mind, I loved Nakata's parts up until it got far more boring in the middle sections, and the characters just didn't speak to me like they usually do. I didn't find it that weird or unique (maybe because I read it before? but also I've never felt that with a Murakami book - especially FIVE YEARS after reading it), I didn't find the whole mystery weirdness to it very difficult to figure out (but, I have gotten 3 degrees since first reading this book so maybe I just was able to read it and figure things out easier?) and overall there wasn't that Murakami charm I'm always so excited for. There was no spark to this book for me - again, it might be my mental health, so I'll definitely be returning to this book one day, but for this reread, I just simply wasn't impressed.
FIRST READ 2016 4/5stars 3/31/16 Edit: I've decided to lower this to 4 stars and not put it on my favorites list. After sitting on it for a few days, this book was definitely excellent, but I simply didn't enjoy it as much as "Wind-Up Bird" or other 5star/favorite books!
5/5stars
"Kafka on the Shore" was my third novel of Murakami's that I read, and this was probably even better than "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle." Probably. And I LOVED "Wind-Up Bird", so this novel definitely lived up to my expectations from my love of that story.
In this novel we follow a young 15 year old runaway who has renamed himself to Kafka Tamura, and an elderly, mentally retarded man named Nakata, whose lived inevitably intertwine - without them meeting each other. While Kafka is running away from his problems with his neglectful father, Nakata is trying to discover the answer to his own mysteries. Both have their own quirks - such as Kafka's illusion of the "boy named Crow" and how Nakata can speak to cats after falling into a mysterious coma when he was nine years old. This story shows the incredible stories of both of these characters and the complex way their lives parallel and affect each other. Along with many other characters who obviously affect the two of them.
While "Wind-up Bird" was written like a dream, in an almost un-comprehensible way, where nearly nothing made sense, even in the end (which was personally one of my favorite parts - the mystery of the story) this book was just as complex, but made a LOT more sense. Although it left many questions in the end, it did wrap up in a much more understandable way. "Kafka" still had the wonderful magical realism and postmodern themes, which is obviously why I loved it so much Like I said, I might have liked this even more than "Wind-Up Bird," which is crazy because I've been OBSESSED with that book since I finished it - still thinking about it and running through it in my brain, STILL trying to figure out what on earth it was about. But this book still had the Murakami charm from "Wind-Up Bird" and it also made more sense. I honestly can't tell you right now which I liked more - because I liked them in very different ways. I enjoyed this in more of an actual story way, but the other book in more of a way where it has really affected me and my thinking of the world. And do I even need to mention the fact that every single character was WONDEFUL? Murakami is a genius when it comes to fleshing out characters and making the reader really connect with each and every one of them. Overall, this book was FABULOUS. It has all of that magical realism, postmodern, Murakami charm while still being a story that nearly every reader could follow.
I highly recommend this as a first novel of Murakami. Like I said, you still get his charm, while reading a story that is still easiER to follow than some of his other novels. But, of course, like all Murakami novels, this is definitely not for younger readers. This has very explicit sexual content, graphic violence that rivals "Wind-Up Bird" and a lot of adult themes to it even though we are following a 15 year old boy, and honestly some parts of this story are EXTREMELY disturbing.
Spoilers from here
I LOVED Oshima! He was the first LGBTQIA character I have seen in a Murakami novel, and he was so badass, I honestly loved him and everything he did and stood for in this novel. Good job Murakami, good job, A+. The boy named Crow was a very interesting touch. I found myself reading for pages and pages and suddenly realizing I had been reading a very simple, normal story, and then suddenly the boy named Crow would pop up and remind you exactly why this book was magical realism. That "character" (if you can call the boy named Crow a character?) still left you with many questions at the end, but also made the story much more interesting, though I wish we'd gotten a little more of an explanation about him - but it's Murakami, so obviously I was a bit too hopeful. I also just REALLY want to know what exactly happened when all the children, including Nakata, fell unconscious. It was obviously a way to make Nakata the way he was, but I just really want to know exactly what happened, it's killing me not knowing! Okay, that scene though, with Johnnie Walker and the cats and the eating the hearts UCK, that was actually rivaling the scene in "Wind-Up Bird" with how disgusting. I actually felt sick after reading it. Murakami is King of writing absolutely disgusting descriptions that are still really pretty: "It all happened in an instant. The belly split wide open and reddish guts spilled out. The cat tried to scream but barely made any sound at all. His tongue, after all, was numb, and he could hardly open his mouth. But his eyes were contorted in terrible pain... A moment later blood gushed out, wetting Johnnie Walker's hands and running down his vest... Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he popped the heart into his mouth and began chewing silently, leisurely savoring the taste." (page 144) This description goes on for several pages. Yum... And oh gosh, the cat from "Wind-Up Bird" made an appearance! I actually like audibly went "are you joking" while on a train and people stared at me. Oops: "A cat sauntering along stopped to watch, a skinny, brown-striped cat whose tail was slightly bent at the tip. A personable cat by the looks of it." (page 404) I also enjoyed some of the wonderful quotes from dialogue between characters there were. Here are some of my favorites: " 'Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time. It's just a natural feeling.' " -Oshima (page 297) " 'It's not just that I'm dumb. Nakata's empty inside. I finally understand that. Nakata's like a library without a single book. It wasn't always like that. I used to have books inside me. For a long time I couldn't remember, but now I can. I used to be normal, just like everybody else. But something happened and I ended up like a container with nothing inside." - Nakata (page 306) " 'You have to be strong to survive... Nobody's going to help me. At least no one has up till now. So I have to make it on my own. I have to get stronger - like a stray crow. That's why I gave myself the name Kafka... Strength itself become your morality.' " - Kafka (page 316) " 'The most amazing thing of all has been you, Mr. Nakata. You canged my life. These past ten days, I don't know - things look different to me now. Stuff I never would've given a second glance before seems different... Nothing like this ever happened to me before. And it's all because of you. I've started seeing the world through your eyes.' " - Hoshino (page 407) " 'The world is a metaphor, Kafka Tamura. But for you and me this library alone is no metaphor. it's always just this library... It's a unique, special library. And nothing else can ever take its place.'" -Oshima (page 465)
Beautiful. Very heavy for such a small novella. I thought this mother-daughter story was very interesting and watching their dynamic when they4/5stars
Beautiful. Very heavy for such a small novella. I thought this mother-daughter story was very interesting and watching their dynamic when they're both dropped in such an unfamiliar environment was very intimate. The main character's narration was very interesting and her thoughts were very relatable. overall this book was very thought-provoking and I highly recommend it!...more
tbh this one wasn't BAD but I can just tell that for ME this story/mystery is simply not interesting enough DNF @ 15%
First DNF of 2024, love to see it
tbh this one wasn't BAD but I can just tell that for ME this story/mystery is simply not interesting enough to read TWO 500-600 page books about it. I'm sure it gets really hardcover into politics and racism in Japan, but it quite honestly wasn't well told and was painfully boring with all of the info dumping it did.
For me as well, I just couldn't get past the descriptions of the girl with Down Syndrome in this book. firstly, it's very obvious this author has never met anyone with DS as the descriptions of this character just truly don't make ANY sense for that disability, and secondly, I don't really enjoy reading about a character being "strapped down" to her seat and her way of communicating being described as screaming and grunting like an animal. I know I'm sensitive to disability rep but... come on now.
I'm sure others could enjoy this, but I just don't feel like putting my time into it....more
I feel like this went a bit over my head. Ito is a very well known poet in Japan and her novel switches between poetry and prose with absolute3/5stars
I feel like this went a bit over my head. Ito is a very well known poet in Japan and her novel switches between poetry and prose with absolutely beautiful, flowery writing that I felt like I had to reread multiple times. I think a lot of people would adore this, but I find it difficult to connect to overly flowery, metaphorical writing. That being said, it was extremely thought-provoking and an interesting, almost episodic format. I enjoyed it, but just sometimes felt like I was too dumb for it lol...more
I DESPERATELY need short story collections to be advertised AS SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS.
I absolutely hate short stories, that is just my persoDNF @ 40%
I DESPERATELY need short story collections to be advertised AS SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS.
I absolutely hate short stories, that is just my personal preference. I have never enjoyed short stories, short story collections, anthologies, etc. I avoid them at all costs because it's not fair to the author for me to read something I KNOW I do not like.
But nowadays it seems to be becoming a trend to market something as a novel that is actually multi-POV short stories that take place in the same world. I have had this same experience several times this year, and I've DNFed all of them. This book (what I thought was a novel) was one I was SO excited for, so even when I realized it was actually short stories, I truly tried to power through and try to read the whole thing because maybe I just haven't read good short story collections - maybe I need to give them more of a chance.
No, I don't. I need publishers to advertise books for what they ACTUALLY are....more
I really do like Japanese thrillers so much more than Western ones. Japanese thrillers are so much quieter, more whimsical, with a bigger focu4/5stars
I really do like Japanese thrillers so much more than Western ones. Japanese thrillers are so much quieter, more whimsical, with a bigger focus on the mystery rather than the twists, violence, or drama of it. "The Aosawa Murders" is no different. It follows a stream of interviews by people directly involved and on the outskirts of a murder of 17 people in a family, and slowly tries to piece together what truly happened. The murders were many years previous, and the murderer was thought to have been found, but this novel slowly pulls back the folds of this story to figure out what truly happened. I also love how in Japanese thrillers there's never an evil villain speech or a long, drawn out explanation of exactly what happened. You get to make your own guess as to what the answer is, just like the people in this book....more
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I really enjoyed this! The writing style was lovely, and I 4/5stars
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I really enjoyed this! The writing style was lovely, and I don't know how else to say it but the writing and descriptions and everything felt very cold, like I'm currently in a hot environment but I could feel the temperature of the book if that makes sense?? I also thought this book was very relatable just being about to adults who don't seem to actually know each other as well as they thought they did but also they don't really know themselves as well as they thought they did. Also lots of discussions about culture and cultural differences, as well as burnout and doing things that actually make you happy rather than necessarily being the best choice for your life. I really enjoyed it and I thought this was a really unique perspective being from an author and a character who were not born in Japan but are experiencing Japan and Japanese culture! I highly recommend for people who enjoy the very quiet slice of Life pieces of Japanese literature....more
I read this, quite honestly, at the absolute perfect time in my life. I finished my MA in december of 2020 and have felt incredibly burned o4.5/5stars
I read this, quite honestly, at the absolute perfect time in my life. I finished my MA in december of 2020 and have felt incredibly burned out for about 6 months now - feeling overwhelmed at the smallest of tasks and finding it very hard to perform activities that I used to thrive in and love. I am also starting a brand new job in a brand new field in about 2 months.
Following our main protagonist as she discussed her own difficulties with burnout and the work force, and as she got job after job, it was so incredibly refreshing, eye opening, and helpful to see her thought process slowly changing, and how she came to feel about each job, and herself, in turn.
This novel is incredibly unique because I feel like a very large group of people will, like me, absolutely love it and be able to completely relate to it - but if you CAN'T, this novel is a very quiet, quaint, slightly boring novel with no true purpose or plot (much like every day human lives). I really enjoyed it, and highly recommend it for people who think they'll be able to relate to this main character!...more
Very entertaining thriller ! Not my fave but I also don’t love detective/police fiction. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes, you’d definitely enjoy 3/5stars
Very entertaining thriller ! Not my fave but I also don’t love detective/police fiction. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes, you’d definitely enjoy this!...more
This was very good! Not as fantastic as I had been hoping, but still really enjoyable and thought provoking. The narrative style is also SO4.25/5stars
This was very good! Not as fantastic as I had been hoping, but still really enjoyable and thought provoking. The narrative style is also SO interesting as it’s a non-linear story telling the life of Nashino, but through each woman and girl who has fallen in love with him over his life. ...more
Loll this book was LAUGHABLY bad. It attacked so many religions, was incredibly sexist, had the creepiest and most porn-written sex scenes I’v1/5stars
Loll this book was LAUGHABLY bad. It attacked so many religions, was incredibly sexist, had the creepiest and most porn-written sex scenes I’ve ever experienced (I’ve never seen the word “pussy” more in my life) and the plot/characters were honestly not interesting enough to warrant such aggressive writing....more
A collection of very short little essays along with beautiful drawings and photographs. I loved learning about rural Japan and this would be a3/5stars
A collection of very short little essays along with beautiful drawings and photographs. I loved learning about rural Japan and this would be a great place to start for anyone who knows nothing about Japanese life or culture. Unfortunately, I do wish the essays were longer and more fleshed out, as well as they felt very randomly thrown together - there was no cohesion between them....more
This was very cute and wholesome - definitely for fans of The Convenience Store Woman - but it didn't WOW me. Still waiting for Kawakami to 3.5/5stars
This was very cute and wholesome - definitely for fans of The Convenience Store Woman - but it didn't WOW me. Still waiting for Kawakami to truly impress me, but she is overall pretty good...more
I ABSOLUTELY loved the first section of this book, but once it got into “book 2” aka the section Kawakami added to make this a full length 4.25/5stars
I ABSOLUTELY loved the first section of this book, but once it got into “book 2” aka the section Kawakami added to make this a full length novel, I found it started just getting way too long, repetitive, and loosing focus. I also found myself constantly questioning half of what the characters were saying cause I blatantly disagree with them - and while I can normally have differing views than characters, this just went on and on for hundreds of pages and many arguments simply didn’t make sense to me. I enjoyed how much social commentary this had and the amazing feminist voice in Japanese lit, but overall I wish she’d stuck to the original novella, or cut out all the unnecessary parts of “book 2” as it really became a slog to read through.
I do highly recommend this for Japanese lit lovers, people who enjoy reading about writers as this has some great commentary on writing and publishing, or people wanting some feminist lit from a non-western country!...more
((Dropped from a 2 to a 1 Star after a few weeks consideration))
**Arc received from NetGalley - thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for p1/5stars
((Dropped from a 2 to a 1 Star after a few weeks consideration))
**Arc received from NetGalley - thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Okay so... this was a bit... too much.
I read "The Convenience Store Woman" last year and really enjoyed it. I was prepared (and excited!) for this book to be weird... but it went a little too far in my opinion.
This book had some really good conversations - such as autonomy of one's own body and life, a lot of commentary on women's bodies and place in society, and the ostracization of people society views as different.
This book has a LOT of trigger warnings for: child abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, familial abuse, sexual abuse, children (like ACTUAL children like 10 or 11 years old, not 17 year olds) having sex with each other, manipulation, cannibalism, incest and probably other things I can't even remember at the moment.
To me, this book could have been wonderful. It could have really been about the psyche and mental trauma of a child who faced a LOT of adversity because of not fitting into society and having incredibly abusive and manipulative family members and how young children cope with these traumas, as well as how adults who have faced these situations cope as they get older.
But Murata took it to a level that verged on parody. The absolute ridiculousness that was paired with these incredibly intense, upsetting narrative made me feel very strange and definitely, at times, felt like she was making fun of these situations. In the same paragraph we would have a child being sexually abused and then also talking about an alien world. Again, it could have been an interesting exploration of coping with trauma, but the entire alien world and being alien thing just went on for too long and went too far into ridiculousness. The last 50ish pages of this were near un-readable for me cause I was just so baffled and cringing every 30 seconds. As well as, the absolute over-the-top reactions from the main character's family and friends, again, almost felt like a parody. I feel like if any woman (or man tbh!) has ever faced conversations like this (ie; not wanting or being able to have children) they might read these conversations and feel like Murata was making fun of these situations.
By going this weird with this novel, I felt like Murata really took away from a very important story. I love weird, I love speculative and fucky stories, but this one just didn't do it for me. I hadn't wanted a story to just BE OVER like I did with this one in a very long time.
I'm giving it 2 stars because when it WASN'T being super fucky and weird, this really did have a lot of wonderful commentary and interesting explorations into humanity and modern society....more
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