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mycuriouschapters 's review for:
Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I do not see this mentioned in many reviews. It’s not a spoiler but totally what you should know if you’re going to read this. Sexual relationship between a 15 yo and 50 yo (i don’t even understand how people look past this and claim this book to be good), mention of rape, involving the minor.
This did not work for me. The writing was interesting, yes and the first few chapters are really good but it did not keep up and only spiralled down. I did feel like this book was a fever dream, what Murakami is known for. Absurd and absolutely insane shit happen in dreams but that does not mean it’s okay. You wake up and try to shake it off, you try to make your day better. That’s how it feels having read this book. It’s emotionally and mentally effective but there are so many many parts I wasn’t okay with reading. Kafka’s plot line based on Oedipus complex was just… ugh! Did not like the narration and depiction of any women in this story (words “sex-machine” used multiple times, idek why). I knew this was to be expected with Murakami but he outdid himself in this book, disgusting! One star for all the cats in the book and the other star, half each for Nakata and Oshima.
This did not work for me. The writing was interesting, yes and the first few chapters are really good but it did not keep up and only spiralled down. I did feel like this book was a fever dream, what Murakami is known for. Absurd and absolutely insane shit happen in dreams but that does not mean it’s okay. You wake up and try to shake it off, you try to make your day better. That’s how it feels having read this book. It’s emotionally and mentally effective but there are so many many parts I wasn’t okay with reading. Kafka’s plot line based on Oedipus complex was just… ugh! Did not like the narration and depiction of any women in this story (words “sex-machine” used multiple times, idek why). I knew this was to be expected with Murakami but he outdid himself in this book, disgusting! One star for all the cats in the book and the other star, half each for Nakata and Oshima.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape
Moderate: Sexual content