Why you should read Kakfa on the Shore? | Non-spoiler review | Maham Reviews

  

S

ometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing direction. You can change direction, but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is inside you. Something inside you. So all you can do is give to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. 

Haruki Murakami

Born in 1949 in Kyoto, Japan and raised in post world war II era, within the American occupation of Japan, Murakami is the national as well as international best selling Japanese author. His work has been translated in more than 50 languages and is most famous for his use of magical realism in his books. Interestingly, he got inspired to write his first novel by not reading any literature, but while playing baseball one afternoon. And before becoming the award-winning writer we know today, he used to run a small jazz bar along with his wife, by the name of Peter Cat.

Brought up in such circumstances, he doesn't shy away from reflecting his experiences from that time in his stories. His novels often feature wars, military undercover missions and shady conspiracies. But he reflects his somber experiences by merging with diverse cultures, literature, music and food in such a beautiful manner that it enriches his stories with distinct taste and feeling

Kafka on the Shore

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The story starts with the struggle of fifteen years old turbulent boy in Tokyo, who hopes to make his future better than the past, thus, runs away from his home leaving his father, a successful sculptor, alone behind. His mother left them when he was just four, and this abandonment has left the grave scars embedded in his personality. Therefore, he intends to run away from his past and make a new life on his own and even probably find her mother as well? Meanwhile, Kafka, the name he had given himself after his favorite novelist, Franz Kafka, embarks on his journey. As he had been planning it for years, he worked on his body very well to disguise others of his age. He was just fifteen but looked around seventeen and it made him feel little less suspicious of himself.  

Finally, with no plan or place to go, he went ahead and owing to his love for reading found his way to this soulful historical library in Takamatsu. There he meets Oshima and Miss Saeki, and spend his days mostly reading, exercising and wondering about his long-lost mother. Until one day, when he finds his hands drenched in blood and himself laying far away from his hotel room.

When the librarian, Oshima, finds him homeless he, considering his love for books and unaware of this bloody incident, offers Kafka the part-time job and residence at the library. However, this residence becomes climacteric for him and he ends up doing what he had been trying to avoid all his life. What was he running from? and how it influenced his life? Well, you better discover it yourself. 

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Alongside Kafka, there was another story was running at its pace. The story of Nakata, almost 50 years old man. When he was in school he went to a trip upon the hill with his fellows and teacher one day but when they reached their destination, all of the 16 students fell unconscious and woke up after some hours, unaffected by the strange episode, except Nakata, who was in coma for months. And suddenly woke up himself one day as if someone had set a timer in him. Even though, he was physically fine but lost his memory of past life, including his ability to read or write. Which caused him to spend below average life as especially dumb kind. But other than this unfortunate loss, he gained the supernatural ability to talk to cats. He could talk to cats and make strange things fall from sky like fish and leeches, which do fall from the sky and make headlines around the country. However, the novel finds him in his later years, in the same Nakona ward where Kafka lived with his father. Meanwhile his life had been pretty simple: lived on allowance he got monthly from the government or by making some extra by finding lost cats, until one day when he meets a strange man who rip open cats' bellies and eat their warm beating hearts. The strange man forces Nakata to do some unusual task, which led him out of town to some place, which he doesn't even know himself but he just knew he has to go there. What he did that forced him to leave the town and where did he go? Well, you know the answer. 

In the meantime, both stories run side by side and intermingle in such an interesting way in the end.   

The boy named crow: 

Image Source: tumblr

Another interesting and realist perspective Murakami has portrayed in his novel is the voice we all hear inside our minds, alter ego, which guides, criticizes, supports and mostly challenges us in the most fearless manners, in the form of character the boy named crow. 

Magical Realism

Image Source: Rittlerion.com

The dreams and reality merge in a way that you would find yourself standing at the border of conscious and subconscious mind. Yet both intertwines so gracefully and leave their meaningful impact in the story. 

Labyrinth/ Maze

Murakami's stories are rich with concepts of labyrinth, not only outside but also inside humans. And even in this novel, he has used this concept elegantly and solves the mystery in the end, but without giving clear-cut explanations for anything.The concept of labyrinth, I think, captures our daily struggle with life. The characteristic, which we may find it's roots back in his childhood. If we consider his life, he was brought up in the post-war era, which was packed with unpredictability and home to confusion. I think this feeling has find home in him, therefore, often shows itself in his stories.

Fate inescapable? 

Despite all his struggles to avoid it, Kafka Tamura discovers in the end that what's in your fate is inescapable. Can it also be true in our life? Well, being a Muslim and fatalist, I can nod to it. But even in our perspective, some things are destined and others are left upon our effort and desire, therefore, it's up to the person what he makes out of him and how he utilizes what he is given. However, Kafka in the end feels that everything happens for a reason as it has enabled him to make peace with his past and motivated him to live his life to the fullest. 

Intuitive writing

One of the interesting thing about the author is that he doesn't plan the story beforehand, he lets his instincts design the story. Thereby, it often leaves his stories open for interpretations, or you can say up to reader’s imagination and how they want to take it. He also does not solve every piece of his puzzle in his stories or even like to clarify them to the readers himself, because he considers this unpredictability and solving the incomplete mysteries the real fun. 

Is Murakami Sexist?

His work is often considered a little out of the line. But it was my first novel from his collection and if analyzing it, I can say that a very few things were against my moral values, but other than those, the book had the unique feeling throughout. This novel literally felt like a real life; did not answer all of my questions, I had to seek myself, but I still had the urge to move forward even when I wasn't sure what was about to happen next, some things were in my favor and some went against it, and the story ended without distinct-limiting perspective, thus continuing their lives even outside the book.  

Recommendation

In the end, I would say that despite a few things I actually loved it and it will, without any doubt, always stay very close to my heart. I would say it is a treat for the fans of magical realism. You may not find any outline in the whole story, but it will surely give you a feeling of it's own kind. Honestly speaking, I have also found some of my favorite quotes and advises in it as well, which you can read here. Meanwhile, I would definitely recommend it to the readers who enjoy big books, because with 600+ pages in paperback format, it is quite lengthy but very enjoyable, lively and fast paced novel. But if you are a slow reader like me, you can still read and enjoy it. Don't worry. But just don't pick it as your first ever book of life, in that case, it can leave you a little more ambiguous.

Rating: ★ 4.6/5

Age group: 17+