Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
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:
Complicated
don't question what's happening in the story.. just ride along with the characters accepting their flaws 🙂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely a book to re-read eventually! My first Murakami book, really enjoyed the gentle, gradual weaving of fantastical elements into a realistic setting. I enjoyed both stories told, and was quite excited when they finally started to collide
If this book had no sex, it would be 5 stars. It's beautiful but wow was there a lot of incest and unfortunately a rape scene. Dream rape but still rape.
I think the lessons in this book are wonderful and it's a fabulous exploration of the human psyche. Philosophical and ingenious.
But please someone stop Murakami from writing sex scenes.
I think the lessons in this book are wonderful and it's a fabulous exploration of the human psyche. Philosophical and ingenious.
But please someone stop Murakami from writing sex scenes.
Didn't gel with this one. Lots of things I wasn't looking for in a book - rape, animal cruelty, possibly incest? Ideas are interesting, but the medium was not for me. Still a decent read, but reader beware of the content warning.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading this was the actual sandstorm.
edit: changed my review from 3 stars to 4
I think this book found me at the right time. Whenever I'd see a Murakami book on my feed and in all of social media, I would quickly ignore it thinking I would not enjoy it or that it was overhyped.
Well, how wrong I was!
Here I am hours later, constantly looking for theories after reading the ending, wishing somehow someone would explain what the hell did I just read. Fortunately, there were some really good theories and analyses that cleared a lot of things.
I deeply regret the time where I skipped most of the passages, especially the philosophical discussions, that were meant to be read carefully because I wanted to rush to the ending and get this over with. That's exactly the opposite of how one should read this book. I know now that I should have absorbed and chewed it exactly 32 times before swallowing (according to Nakata).
The only way you can read Kafka on the Shore correctly is to take in the words like rain. Observe every tiny drop and let them sink into your skin. Reading this was like having an out-of-body experience while at the same time plunging yourself into the depths of your subconscious.
Despite all the gruesome descriptions, depressing echoes of trauma and loss, it still left quite an impact on me and I might just have to read it again soon.
edit: changed my review from 3 stars to 4
I think this book found me at the right time. Whenever I'd see a Murakami book on my feed and in all of social media, I would quickly ignore it thinking I would not enjoy it or that it was overhyped.
Well, how wrong I was!
Here I am hours later, constantly looking for theories after reading the ending, wishing somehow someone would explain what the hell did I just read. Fortunately, there were some really good theories and analyses that cleared a lot of things.
I deeply regret the time where I skipped most of the passages, especially the philosophical discussions, that were meant to be read carefully because I wanted to rush to the ending and get this over with. That's exactly the opposite of how one should read this book. I know now that I should have absorbed and chewed it exactly 32 times before swallowing (according to Nakata).
The only way you can read Kafka on the Shore correctly is to take in the words like rain. Observe every tiny drop and let them sink into your skin. Reading this was like having an out-of-body experience while at the same time plunging yourself into the depths of your subconscious.
Despite all the gruesome descriptions, depressing echoes of trauma and loss, it still left quite an impact on me and I might just have to read it again soon.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars, rounded down. I read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and absolutely loved it—weird fiction is absolutely my jam, and I especially love weird fiction that incorporates Japanese folklore. But, this book was kind of boring.
It started off great: runaway teenage boy with a mysterious voice inside him, switching from 1st person to 2nd person POV, a super cool old library: SOLD. Talking cats? Yes. An old, unsolved wartime incident involving a group of children who lose consciousness without explanation? Okay! Every chapter gets weirder and weirder, and I am here for it.
But about halfway through the story, I got incurably bored. All this premise, and the buildup kind of fizzled out. I almost didn't finish it. I think the tipping point was the one-two punch of some (very minor) feminist characters who were presented as humorless shrews out to ruin all of literature, coupled with the "reveal" of a trans character who was misidentified as homosexual. And the point of the reveal was, "because I am not actually a MAN, I can't be sexist." This wasn't even a major plot point, and I realize Murakami was trying to do something here that didn't necessarily have anything to do with feminism and gender identity... but it was just too problematic to really get past.
But, even then, I stuck it out. And I was still bored.
I wonder if it was the translation, but the dialogue was terrible. I think it was supposed to feel whimsical and humorous, but it just didn't work. There were also a LOT of characters explaining big philosophical ideas to other characters and/or summing up great works of literature, which felt pedantic. A lot of telling vs. showing.
I won't give up on Murakami. But I don't recommend this one.
It started off great: runaway teenage boy with a mysterious voice inside him, switching from 1st person to 2nd person POV, a super cool old library: SOLD. Talking cats? Yes. An old, unsolved wartime incident involving a group of children who lose consciousness without explanation? Okay! Every chapter gets weirder and weirder, and I am here for it.
But about halfway through the story, I got incurably bored. All this premise, and the buildup kind of fizzled out. I almost didn't finish it. I think the tipping point was the one-two punch of some (very minor) feminist characters who were presented as humorless shrews out to ruin all of literature, coupled with the "reveal" of a trans character who was misidentified as homosexual. And the point of the reveal was, "because I am not actually a MAN, I can't be sexist." This wasn't even a major plot point, and I realize Murakami was trying to do something here that didn't necessarily have anything to do with feminism and gender identity... but it was just too problematic to really get past.
But, even then, I stuck it out. And I was still bored.
I wonder if it was the translation, but the dialogue was terrible. I think it was supposed to feel whimsical and humorous, but it just didn't work. There were also a LOT of characters explaining big philosophical ideas to other characters and/or summing up great works of literature, which felt pedantic. A lot of telling vs. showing.
I won't give up on Murakami. But I don't recommend this one.