Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami reviewed

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just returned last night from a fabulous journey through relationships, lives, timeless love and concepts, all woven beautifully into a surreal tale, giving flight to the readers’ imagination, by Haruki Murakami in his book ‘Kafka on the shore’.
It is awe inspiring fiction at a different level. Had never read him before and had only heard what a great writer he is. Now am part of his fan club! I only hope the next book I read written by him does not disappoint.

In Kafka on the shore, he deals with filial and sibling love, self realisation and delves into time and space dimensions to make it surreal.

He also touches briefly on the horrors of war and the justifications of draft evaders.

I like the way he has shown how literates and illiterates cope with life situations using the knowledge gained from books and or life experiences.

I will leave you with a few quotes that I loved from the book.

“…most of the books have the smell of an earlier time leaking out from between their pages – a special odour of the knowledge and emotions that for ages have been calmly resting between the covers.”

“As if it was lying in wait for me, silence wraps itself around me tightly once I’m alone.”

Here I would like to commend Philip Gabriel who has translated the novel into English from Japanese without losing out on the delicate nuances of the original.

“Unsure of where they’re heading, my words are sucked into the void.”

“…asking questions is embarrassing for a moment, but not asking’s embarrassing for a lifetime.”
“Having an object that symbolises freedom might make a person happier than actually getting the freedom it represents.”

“How you live determines how you die”

The pace of the narrative varies but never to an extent that you would want to stop reading. It is a thriller but at a different level and even the ending or climax is gentle, no screaming, just pure thrill.

Read the book to know what I mean. 🌝


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