Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - Kafka on the Shore

This is one of the worst best books you will ever read. Murakami will sprout some of the most deep, poetic words imaginable, but it will be right after the fifteen-year-old protagonist

fucks the ghost of his still-alive maybe-mother

. It is a perfect example of the magic realism genre, and by that I mean it makes absolutely zero sense.

The ending, too, is ridiculously vague. I suppose I should be glad there's a chance she wasn't his mother, but potentially incestuous vampirism sure is something I hadn't considered before. Also, what the fuck was that worm thing about?

I haven't read anything else by Murakami (and I don't intend to), but according to others, a gripping style, adamant homo/transphobia, and obsessive Freudianism are all staples of his works. And this book is no different: a modern (at the time) retelling of Oedipus Rex where the protagonist is newly fifteen, fully aware of the prophecy, and - I cannot stress this enough - actively choosing to pursue it. It's technically not pedophilia because Japanese laws are different than in the west, but still. Come on. What the hell. Oh, and his sister's in the prophecy too. I'll let you guess which part. You think this review is running a little long? You haven't even SEEN the number of content warnings I'm going to slap on this bad boy.
All that said, even with one protagonist whose only character traits are "Oedipus complex" and "teenage boy," another who is just a walking autism stereotype (I mean, a child in a man's body? Come on), and a whole cast of chronically horny sociopaths, it SOMEHOW manages to be a page-turner. Truly one of the few books that you wish with all your heart you could put down, but are forced by some external power to continue reading until your sanity finally breaks. Because trust me, it will break. For me it happened around chapter five.
So yeah, if multitudes of

needlessly graphic incest, VERY borderline pedophilia, pointless vagueness, childhood trauma, a trans man literally calling himself a woman of his own accord, gore, violence towards animals, AND MORE

are all things you can stand, sure. Go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Content Warnings

soyboi's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

dniespal's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

julswk's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

star_witch's review against another edition

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3.75

I honestly wished I had read the trigger warnings beforehand because it was brutal. Chapter 16? It scared me for life, it haunts me in my dreams. Life will never be the same.

Ofc we also have adult/minor relationship, with sexual content and Murakami sprinkled some incest there as well. It was... It was a time not gonna lie. Hated every second of it.

And yet, despite the fact that I absolutely hated some themes of this book and I definitely think that some things could have been altered and it would still capture the story the same way without traumatizing the reader, it was an unexpectedly good book. The writing style and the way the story was told managed to hold my attention. I couldn't figure out where the plot was going so that's why I kept reading even after some of the worst experiences I had while reading a book. The characters were unique, and while we definitely have some really problematic ones, imo

*cough* Ms. Saeki and Johnnie Walker *cough, cough*

, I overall liked them and their journey. One obviously stands out to me. Oshima.

Also serious question. What is Colonel Sanders doing in this book? And Johnnie Walker too.

- - - - - - -
It is definitely not a book I would recommend to anyone. If you would like to read it I strongly advise you to check the trigger warnings before doing so. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Content Warnings

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