A review by julesh28
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

i need therapy now.

the writing hell yeah. loved it up to 51%, then the incest came into the picture and i had to make myself keep reading. like no. did not like the graphic description of sex and how the main character has a boner like 24/7. so much detail about penises. really uncalled for. 

but we love the worldbuilding, very gripping. it was hard to put the book away at times. and to some degree i also adored the characters. but their moral? very off. (especially oshima!! babe, i liked u, but accepting the incest is ruining it for me)
but the magical realism was really good. did not know i'd enjoy books like that but i really did. also, loved all the references to philosophy, history, etc.

i still can't tell tho if this is transphobic or not? and i'm not sure if murakami got the idea of transgenderism (is that a word??)
and why are we portraying women like that? like hello?? it's 2024?!

i liked it (i think) but i don't know if i'd recommend it to anyone. it's very odd...