A review by bisma_shahid96
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

"Kafka on the Shore" is a genuine page-turner and a relentlessly metaphysical brain-twister. 
Reading this slow-ravelling book is more engrossing than it should be and perhaps less moving than the author intended. However, the execution is rigorously schematic. 
The story revolves around a 15-year-old boy and a mentally-special sexagenarian man who are on an escape, separately and individually. Narratives of both are told in deftly but shakily connected alternate chapters that gradually converge at the end.
As the story will proceed, you'll feel like sailing - on a windsurfer - in an ocean with no destination going with the flow. It will feel like tripping over a dream that looks like reality. The further you move, the more it becomes heavy and overwhelming.
You'll find a blast of greek mythology, metaphilosophy, innocent humour, and other complexities along the way.
You'll find yourself smiling at several instances while perpending and reflecting in another.  
Though, there's a vagueness this book religiously carries till the end so it'll definitely feel like a cliffhanger. 
All in all, a good fantasy-fiction book with some unique element to it. The hype is definitely worth it.


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