lispectorsexual 's review for:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

4.75

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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With Murakami, you’re likely to emerge with a life altering reading experience regarding human nature and existence. Considering he doesn’t intentionally place philosophy in a position where you’d immediately grasp and interpret it, rather he weaves it in with emotions and a sweet poetic expression. On the other hand, you will be slapped across the face with vulgarity and the highest amount of profanity you will ever come across, to the point where you’d even question if he was the one writing all this, but yes, it’s him, that’s just how he is. 

Kafka on the shore is a brilliant novel reflecting on the connectedness of living creatures through the absurdity that is of existence. The last few chapters are very much confusing (for me that is) but it’s not in a sense where I might’ve felt the need to drop the book and call it quits, but it somehow pushed me further to finishing it.  It might’ve been a slight mention or reference but Hegel’s philosophy plays a huge role or influence to this piece of literature. If we were to look at Hegel’s philosophy particularly from Phenomenology of Spirit where he explores how self-consciousness develops, he goes into the idea that the self doesn’t arise from isolation but it’s the encounter or existence of “the other” or another consciousness that one becomes or is - “I am because I am recognised”. And that’s how the characters within this story are. They exist because of the other. 

Our protagonist, Kafka Tamura, who’s on the pursuit to find meaning or purpose while escaping the world that desperately wants to swallow him whole as he walks on its soil. A paradox of running towards something and at the same time running away from something, and if not careful one might find himself running in a circle or loop. Mr Nakata, our deuteragonist, a man without a self to begin with, an empty vessel, a man with a fading shadow, a man that chooses to live in isolation because of a lack of the so called self, which disables him from interacting with others or the other, and being able to connect with them.

It’s a phenomenal work of fiction that confronts the search for meaning, escapism, and the complications of understanding human interactions and feelings. All of which is told through a constant splitting narrative, either from Kafka’s pov, and the life of Nakata from a spectator’s point which is a symbolic reference to him being an empty vessel, a man without a self. Murakami is well known for making references to art, films, music and all sorts of things to keep you engaged and intrigued, but he excels mostly in the realm of providing beautiful descriptions of scenery and emotions that aren’t boring and unnecessarily long and disengaging. The only thing holding me back from stamping a perfect 5 star on it is because some parts or chapters were beyond vulgar and disgusting, but then again the thing with books is that after reading them and having to let them marinate for a while you become more appreciative of the art as well as feeling a sense of reward for having completed it. And that’s what I’m hoping to happen with me because I very much enjoyed reading this masterpiece.