A review by samc2309
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is well written and it is obvious that the author is talented at writing magical realism, but he absolutely cannot write women to the point that it diminishes everything else it does well. Every single woman is used for sex in this book with there being very few non-sex scenes involving the female characters, one of which is one of them cooking for Kafka. Kafka on the Shore suffers from the same issues as Neon Genesis Evangelion - the protagonist’s actions towards women are in fact an issue, but what causes him to change is being disgusted at himself and what he’s done rather than pushback from the victim who is showing agency.

I could maybe even look passed it if this was the one book that had these issues, but a look at Murakami’s other works shows that adult/minor relationships and incest are a recurring theme (and these don’t involve Oedipal curses). 

Definitely not a worthless read, but hard to listen to philosophical talk from someone obviously not writing for people as a whole