Kafka on the Shore
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-14 07:52:33
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Haruki Murakami
- ISBN：0099494094
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here
Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters。 Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen， under the shadow of his father's dark prophecy。 The ageing Nakata， tracker of lost cats， who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction， finds his simple life suddenly turned upside down。 Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas。 Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII。 There is a savage killing， but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle。
At once a classic tale of quest， Kafka on the Shore is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos， of patricide， of mother-love， of sister-love。 Above all it is a bewitching and wildly inventive novel from a master stylist。
Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters。 Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen， under the shadow of his father's dark prophecy。 The ageing Nakata， tracker of lost cats， who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction， finds his simple life suddenly turned upside down。 Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas。 Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII。 There is a savage killing， but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle。
At once a classic tale of quest， Kafka on the Shore is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos， of patricide， of mother-love， of sister-love。 Above all it is a bewitching and wildly inventive novel from a master stylist。
Reviews
Kolbe Logan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Good book but minus a star for the whole “wants to fuck his mom” thing
Oskars
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Thrilling story but some parts are hard to understand
Johan Kwok
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I think Murakami doesn't really care that much for plot cohesiveness， he just wants to evoke a particular feeling， which became heavily associated with his style。 Even at the expense of vague and loose ends， sometimes the result is something unique and weirdly magical。 But even so， I feel like I'd prefer something that makes more sense。Cool scenes and description of things， yeah， but the story goes nowhere。 I simply couldn't buy all of the surrealists elements and pretend it's a work of art and I think Murakami doesn't really care that much for plot cohesiveness， he just wants to evoke a particular feeling， which became heavily associated with his style。 Even at the expense of vague and loose ends， sometimes the result is something unique and weirdly magical。 But even so， I feel like I'd prefer something that makes more sense。Cool scenes and description of things， yeah， but the story goes nowhere。 I simply couldn't buy all of the surrealists elements and pretend it's a work of art and genius。 Some definitely hit the spot， but others falls flat。 Maybe he's best suited for short stories？ This is my first novel， so I don't know。 And if there's something deep meaning behind all those symbols（the Rice Bowl Hill incident， the entrance stone， the crow， the forest cabin， Johnnie Walker and Coronel Sanders） I don't get it。 And I'm not sure if it's worth to get it， honestly。But yeah， kinda liked it。 。。。more
sharad tiwari
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Dark narrative。。。a good read fr leisure time
Amelia Sturbois
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I really enjoyed this book。
Ismail Alacaoğlu
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Kitabın 15 yaşındaki kahramanının -tam da yaşının gerektirdiği gibi belki de- cinsel fantezilerinin， masturbasyonlarının çok gereksiz bir yer kapladığını düşünüyorum hikayede ve bu beni resmen kitaptan soğuttu。
靖怡 赖
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二十多岁才看这本书，读来虽颇有收获，却认为这更适合青春期阅读
Prapti
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i was just so surprised because this was far from what i thought this book was going to be。 it was nothing like i imagined but im not complaining。 the main theme is self discovery explained through concepts of body and soul。 honestly i regret not reading it more carefully so i might go ahead and read it again。 there were so many themes explored that i realised it only after reading the bookbut anyways leave all your thoughts and expectations and read the book with your whole heart im sure you wi i was just so surprised because this was far from what i thought this book was going to be。 it was nothing like i imagined but im not complaining。 the main theme is self discovery explained through concepts of body and soul。 honestly i regret not reading it more carefully so i might go ahead and read it again。 there were so many themes explored that i realised it only after reading the bookbut anyways leave all your thoughts and expectations and read the book with your whole heart im sure you will enjoy it 。。。more
Jolene
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Exceptional， one of my all-time favorites
Hoda Khalighi
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I am still confused about how i feel about this book and i think it’s a beautiful thing。 We always want to be certain about things， but it wasnt what this book offered me。 The confusion about everyyy single thing in this book was just perfect。 It’s ok not to be certain in life sometimes and just carry a pile of mixed feelings and thoughts around with u in life。
Ullas Jain
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Esoteric events happening in alternate dimension。 At one perspective， it's all we see everyday， maybe that's what magical reality is。 Esoteric events happening in alternate dimension。 At one perspective， it's all we see everyday， maybe that's what magical reality is。 。。。more
Viktor Lövgren
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As per usual wanders quite far into the abstract。 Enjoyed the pieces of the puzzle coming together。
Mauricia Lewis
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was captivating in so many ways！I genuinely feel like I enjoy reading Murakami’s works mainly because his writing focuses on characters who are searching for something whether that be a loved one that they once met or answers to who they are biologically。 Murakami is much deeper than the superficial。It really moved me in such a profound way and has made me look at cats in different ways。 Kafka’s continual heartache at wanting know who is mother is whilst trying to avoid （but inevitably This book was captivating in so many ways！I genuinely feel like I enjoy reading Murakami’s works mainly because his writing focuses on characters who are searching for something whether that be a loved one that they once met or answers to who they are biologically。 Murakami is much deeper than the superficial。It really moved me in such a profound way and has made me look at cats in different ways。 Kafka’s continual heartache at wanting know who is mother is whilst trying to avoid （but inevitably falling victim） to his fathers prophecy is an integral part of the novel and brings so much depth to the other characters。In the end， I feel like we are all nothing and the idea that we all have a crow inside of us and things we need to go deep in the forest to uncover our true selves before we are closed of is a big take away。 Look inside yourself and see what you most value and how you can make use of your time！ Bit of an abstract review。 But， it’s a bit of an abstract book。 。。。more
PQ
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Love the flow of the stories where things don't seem to make sense and yet they do。 The uncertainty of how both stories will be intertwined is keeping me curious and want to know more。 Yet， it is the feelings of the character that resonates with me。 Love the flow of the stories where things don't seem to make sense and yet they do。 The uncertainty of how both stories will be intertwined is keeping me curious and want to know more。 Yet， it is the feelings of the character that resonates with me。 。。。more
Hasnain Raza Zardari
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"Samajh mein nahi aya， lekin buhat maza aya"Jokes aside， this isn't your everyday novel in which the whole story is setup for a finale， and doesn't even follow the rules of a protagonist or antagonist。 This novel is about the journey it makes you go through， not about the difinitive end。 While reading it i went through a sea of emotions， reflecting on my life choices at different occasions after reading about the choices of the characters。 There is also some pieces of wisdom here and there， and "Samajh mein nahi aya， lekin buhat maza aya"Jokes aside， this isn't your everyday novel in which the whole story is setup for a finale， and doesn't even follow the rules of a protagonist or antagonist。 This novel is about the journey it makes you go through， not about the difinitive end。 While reading it i went through a sea of emotions， reflecting on my life choices at different occasions after reading about the choices of the characters。 There is also some pieces of wisdom here and there， and is filled with metaphors and analogies。 I still don't know how I feel about this book， but this book made me think and i was hooked throughout， so I'm definite I'd be reading more of this author's work。 。。。more
Kariz Maria
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“That’s right。 A reciprocal metaphor。 Things outside you are projections of what’s inside you， and what’s inside you is a projection of what’s outside。 So when you step into the labyrinth outside you， at the same time you’re stepping into the labyrinth inside。 Most definitely a risky business。”Excerpt FromKafka on the ShoreHaruki MurakamiFinally finished this one！ Definitely my favorite among Haruki Murakami’s works I’ve read so far（1Q84 and Norweigan Wood）。 It is a weird book - talking cats， ra “That’s right。 A reciprocal metaphor。 Things outside you are projections of what’s inside you， and what’s inside you is a projection of what’s outside。 So when you step into the labyrinth outside you， at the same time you’re stepping into the labyrinth inside。 Most definitely a risky business。”Excerpt FromKafka on the ShoreHaruki MurakamiFinally finished this one！ Definitely my favorite among Haruki Murakami’s works I’ve read so far（1Q84 and Norweigan Wood）。 It is a weird book - talking cats， raining tunas and mackerels， and whatnots。 But I’ve enjoyed every bit of it， even laughed at the characters and ached with them。 Most importantly， this novel hauled me up from a book slump！ 5/5！ 。。。more
Alex Weeks
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this book was SO good。 i had heard so many good things about it before reading it， but now i understand why。 murakami knows how to create a world that utterly confuses you but makes perfect sense， feels otherworldly and yet as real as day， one that draws you in and leaves you hanging onto every word。 one thing i was not expecting was the amount of sexually explicit content in the book， and we frequently get perspectives that are maybe overly misogynistic and sex-focused。 there were also a couple this book was SO good。 i had heard so many good things about it before reading it， but now i understand why。 murakami knows how to create a world that utterly confuses you but makes perfect sense， feels otherworldly and yet as real as day， one that draws you in and leaves you hanging onto every word。 one thing i was not expecting was the amount of sexually explicit content in the book， and we frequently get perspectives that are maybe overly misogynistic and sex-focused。 there were also a couple of scenes described that were terribly violent and made me feel like i needed to put the book down and not read anymore。 so maybe this book deserves something more like a 4。75 star rating， but despite these things i still found it incredibly interesting。 i would highly recommend Kafka on the Shore - just be prepared for some R-rated content。 。。。more
div
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he might be my newest fav authorlol
Ben
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beautiful 。 the book pushes you along perfectly
Sumit
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Entrance stone？ Kafka Tamura fate？Nakata fate？Talking with cats？Fishes falling from sky？Johnnie Walker？What was that？Didn't understand a thing。Isn't it crazy， eh？ Completing a book containing more than 600 pages， and you can't even deduce a thing。Damn it！！By the way， I adore the simplicity of Nakata。Hoshino is a funny guy， aloha shirt he-he。Guess， I have to read it again。 I am up for it。 I will read it again。 Entrance stone？ Kafka Tamura fate？Nakata fate？Talking with cats？Fishes falling from sky？Johnnie Walker？What was that？Didn't understand a thing。Isn't it crazy， eh？ Completing a book containing more than 600 pages， and you can't even deduce a thing。Damn it！！By the way， I adore the simplicity of Nakata。Hoshino is a funny guy， aloha shirt he-he。Guess， I have to read it again。 I am up for it。 I will read it again。 。。。more
Virliana Dieniar
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Mind blowing and unpredictable， Kafka on the Shore is a masterpiece。
Alessandra Menezes
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I would still be beating myself up， if I hadn't finished this book before giving to my now ex-boyfriend， that's how much I wanted him to stay away from me， I told him to keep it。 And I am absolutely in love with it， its a beautiful piece of literature， enthralling really。 I mean， it has three different stories， that are seemingly so irrelevant to each other。 “And once the storm is over， you won’t remember how you made it through， how you managed to survive。 You won’t even be sure， whether the s I would still be beating myself up， if I hadn't finished this book before giving to my now ex-boyfriend， that's how much I wanted him to stay away from me， I told him to keep it。 And I am absolutely in love with it， its a beautiful piece of literature， enthralling really。 I mean， it has three different stories， that are seemingly so irrelevant to each other。 “And once the storm is over， you won’t remember how you made it through， how you managed to survive。 You won’t even be sure， whether the storm is really over。 But one thing is certain。 When you come out of the storm， you won’t be the same person who walked in。 That’s what this storm’s all about。”Some lines from the book are capable of resonating within you， to such an extent， that it touches places in you that you never knew existed。 Truly transcending。 It captures attention from the very first line， being so openly vague， it'll have you wondering where exactly is this taking me？ Do I want to go there？ But you're already there before you know it。 。。。more
Anjana Unnikrishnan
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A book for weird sentimental fools （you know who you are）， willing to believe in the edge of the world where consciousness and unconsciousness can melt， a normal world where cats and stones are talked to， where Oedipal prophecies may or may not have come true and where a very many questions go unanswered because the book ends， but the world it creates lives on。 It can't be Magical realism if you believe in it right， if the author's philosophy sucks you in completely and his writing is a careful A book for weird sentimental fools （you know who you are）， willing to believe in the edge of the world where consciousness and unconsciousness can melt， a normal world where cats and stones are talked to， where Oedipal prophecies may or may not have come true and where a very many questions go unanswered because the book ends， but the world it creates lives on。 It can't be Magical realism if you believe in it right， if the author's philosophy sucks you in completely and his writing is a careful magic that you'd wondrously and precipitously inhabit， not knowing what curve ball's gonna hit you next。 The magic is broken at times when you sense the author's prejudices taking over （or maybe one's own being laid bare） and those portions are jarring。 There is a baffling take on feminism thrown in for good measure and even more baffling comparisons to complicate it。 The problematic portrayal of women in Murakami's writings has been frequently commented on， and you start to see why。 You move along with a precocious and mysterious 15-year old boy running away from home in the real world， and an elderly 'stupid' man in search of a cat in the real world's surrealist aspects。Dangerous things happen and the book races to a finish where they are hurled together in ways that， come to think of it， may not make much sense。For me， the key takeaway is an acknowledgement that the world we inhabit encompassing time， memories， death and fate， is incomprehensibly strange and that there are no complete answers to the whys or hows。 Phew， What a relief。 Maybe that's why one must read fiction。 。。。more
Jarrod
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There were parts I liked， and parts I didn't。 The Nakata thread was great through and through， and I liked all of the descriptions which really took me to the Japan of the story。 The Kafka character thread started okay but in the end was just so so。 And of course both threads were only tangentially linked which， while obviously what the author intended， was a little unsatisfactory for me。 Overall a decent story。 I listened to it on Audible and the version on there was well produced。 There were parts I liked， and parts I didn't。 The Nakata thread was great through and through， and I liked all of the descriptions which really took me to the Japan of the story。 The Kafka character thread started okay but in the end was just so so。 And of course both threads were only tangentially linked which， while obviously what the author intended， was a little unsatisfactory for me。 Overall a decent story。 I listened to it on Audible and the version on there was well produced。 。。。more
Teck Wu
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Very nice read
Higor Machado
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Terminaria se tivesse umas 200 páginas a menos。O mistério do qual a narrativa depende cansa， fica enfadonho depois de mais de 300 páginas mal andando。 Metade dos personagens são cansativos e têm como único traço de personalidade terem lido muitos livros。 É difícil se conectar com Kafka， Oshima é irritante e muitas vezes prepotente。 Nakata é o personagem mais humano e interessante， mesmo sendo o mais simples。Tentei， mas não deu。
Jackie Perri
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 TW: inc*st， r*pe。 I love the way Murakami reads in a sort of dream-like daze， and this book did a lot of things well， dont get me wrong。 I have to say， The incest rape scene turned me off harder than ive ever been turned off before。 that alone made me not even want to finish the book， but I pushed through anyways。 I got to the end and thought， meh。The scene felt very unnecessary and used verbiage that seemed to me like the rape was warranted and condoned， which is a huge no no in my book。probabl TW: inc*st， r*pe。 I love the way Murakami reads in a sort of dream-like daze， and this book did a lot of things well， dont get me wrong。 I have to say， The incest rape scene turned me off harder than ive ever been turned off before。 that alone made me not even want to finish the book， but I pushed through anyways。 I got to the end and thought， meh。The scene felt very unnecessary and used verbiage that seemed to me like the rape was warranted and condoned， which is a huge no no in my book。probably won't read anymore murakami because of how poor my experience was with this book。 i wish i liked it more， but i really cant look past the incest。。。。 and the rape。。。。。 。。。more
Kaytee
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Well written I guess but boring and nasty and should carry a trigger warning。misogynistically written details of menstruation and sex， rape， endless descriptions of penises， relishing of the torture and decapitation of cats， cod metaphysics， this author thinks he is clever， in fact its a contrived story （calls the main character Kafka - not pretentious or juvenile at all） and very nasty actually。Do yourself a favour and skip this juvenile and deeply unpleasant attempt at being clever from this s Well written I guess but boring and nasty and should carry a trigger warning。misogynistically written details of menstruation and sex， rape， endless descriptions of penises， relishing of the torture and decapitation of cats， cod metaphysics， this author thinks he is clever， in fact its a contrived story （calls the main character Kafka - not pretentious or juvenile at all） and very nasty actually。Do yourself a favour and skip this juvenile and deeply unpleasant attempt at being clever from this spiteful little man who quite obviously has the worlds smallest W I l l y 。。。more
Daniele
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Un libro che trascende il surreale e la realtà stessa。 Un libro che ho assaporato piano piano e che mi ha trasportato lungo due viaggi narrati alla stregua di una fiaba。 Personaggi solidi， intriganti e ben sviluppati。 Questo è il mio primo approccio con Murakami e sono sicuro che non sarà l'ultimo。 Un libro che trascende il surreale e la realtà stessa。 Un libro che ho assaporato piano piano e che mi ha trasportato lungo due viaggi narrati alla stregua di una fiaba。 Personaggi solidi， intriganti e ben sviluppati。 Questo è il mio primo approccio con Murakami e sono sicuro che non sarà l'ultimo。 。。。more
Lauren
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I listened to this on audio and it just didn’t grab me！！！！ Everything was very long winded and repetitive and honestly quite boring。 I can see that it’s well written but the story and characters were very dull and I just lost interest and ended up not caring about anyone。Also， I just didn’t understand the constant need to highlight that Kafka has a ‘rock hard cock’ or that Nakata needs ‘to go for a dump’！！ I get that it’s to show that one is a teenager and one is a bit slow and this is a base hu I listened to this on audio and it just didn’t grab me！！！！ Everything was very long winded and repetitive and honestly quite boring。 I can see that it’s well written but the story and characters were very dull and I just lost interest and ended up not caring about anyone。Also， I just didn’t understand the constant need to highlight that Kafka has a ‘rock hard cock’ or that Nakata needs ‘to go for a dump’！！ I get that it’s to show that one is a teenager and one is a bit slow and this is a base human need but it was just too frequent！！！ We get it - you’re a horny teenager and a childlike man who focuses on his poop cycle！！ I get it’s the Oedipus complex and it’s supposed to represent the psychosexual development theory， showing how he hasn’t actually left the child stage， but it’s just so convoluted that it just feels strange， boring and out of place。Maybe this is my fault because I know that magical realism isn’t really for me， but I really found this one absolutely bizarre and it just didn’t make sense！！！ I know that that is the point in this genre but I just thought it was too obscure and abstract to make sense。 It’s so vague and fantastical that it was not entertaining。 And I have no idea what happened at the end and although I know asking questions is the point of the book I don’t actually care enough to google it or google other peoples interpretations！！！ I don’t know， maybe I’m just not smart enough or imaginative enough for this book， maybe I’m just not cut out to go to another plane of the universe and understand metaphysics when it involves talking cats or raining fish， but I’m ok with that！！ Either way， I still think a book should be entertaining and this was definitely not that！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Kafka on the Shore
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Kafka on the Shore&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Kafka on the Shore&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0