Reviews

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

gidazz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.25

focaracci's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lizchan's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

cowboydemigod's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

flupwatson's review against another edition

4.0

This is one of those kinds of books that looks long and intimidating but reads really fast. It said in the blurbs on the cover that it was "addictive" and that was definitely true.

It follows the lives of two people, a 15 year runaway and an old man that can talk to cats. Lots of mysterious things happen, and a lot never gets explained (or maybe it just went over my head) but it doesn't really matter. It never seems pretentious or feels boring, each chapter moving a long with a force of its own.

I also really liked the translation. I felt that I could almost hear the Japanese behind the words, which was really nice.

kafkamus98's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kaltblvt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

casual_mars's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

carolthereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

accompanied me from the begging of my internship until the end. 

strange, hard to grasp, and absolutely wonderful. 

my first murakami read and it probably won’t be the last :)

jamiesbookclub's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There was so much weird stuff going on I couldn't focus on any messages it was trying to convey.