Review by hornsounder - Kafka on the Shore

hornsounder 's review for:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

0.25

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I've seen this book described as a dreamlike experience and I agree, in that it is like being told someone else's dream in excruciating detail. This is really a "things happen" book and I mean that in the worst way. Not a single character exhibits agency, especially not Kafka. Events happen to the characters with little to no input on their end. When they do actually do things, the reasons behind it is invariably accompanied with the text telling us that it was as if a nebulous force was controlling their actions. The character's talk about fate and Greek tragedies but none of it works because characters are just being moved from place to place with no more motive than a Barbie doll being moved about her dreamhouse. Instead, those conversations (which are all unbearably pretentious) seem more like the author is trying to infuse the text with some deep meaning. It doesn't work, it just made me hate this stupid characters. There's a constant horniness to the book that's deeply off-putting. Sure, there's times where it's clearly meant to come off that way but more often it is a veneer of juvenile comments about genitalia.

Content Warnings