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Kafka on the Shore: Review

Writer's picture: Pavithra PrabhuPavithra Prabhu


“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing direction. You can change direction, but the sandstorm chases you, you turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside you-”






ABOUT AUTHOR

The man needs no introduction. The 70-year-old Japanese author’s novels have been translated into more than thirty-four languages. He is adored for his works, many of which have been successfully adapted into Japanese films. What truly sets Murakami apart from his peers is the ease at which he introduces quirky characters and the itching urge to write about outcasts in a society that demands normality.


He has lived inside the surreal stories of Franz Kafka and Kurt Vonnegut, none other than the Romantics themselves who revolutionised literature. They had an immense influence on Murakami’s writing career. We often experience the Kafkaesque in his magical surrealism novels.


Under this genre, there is one such novel that has forced readers into its absurdity; Kafka on the Shore. The story consists of several interesting factors that no doubt make you appreciate its Murakami-esque quality.



THE PLOT

The story deals with journeys to and fro the conscious and the subconscious mind. It is the journey of Kafka, who discovers the threshold to the ‘other world’ and the fulfillment of his strange prophecy and hence the name Kafka on the Shore. The shore symbolises the threshold between the two worlds. Murakami was inspired by Carl Jung’s theory of the human mind consisting of the conscious and the unconscious mind. And the story is nothing short of an amusingly entangled tale.

picture from google


Kafka on the Shore is the perfect bait if you are looking for a book that promises an electrifying escape from reality. The characters themselves are enticed by illusions and they want to live in a dream-like fantasy. Kafka is raised by his father, a famous sculptor named Koichi Tamura. His mother and sister abandoned Kafka and his father when he was only three years old. Koichi Tamura repeats a prophecy that eventually turned into torture for Kafka.


Our protagonist strategizes a runaway plan along with ‘The Boy Named Crow' which he executes on his 15th birthday. It is a rather strange coincidence. The famed novelist, Franz Kafka’s unresolved and devastating relationship with his father is parallel to the troubled relationship between Kafka Tamura and his father. Kafka is the pseudo-name our protagonist uses while he is on his runaway mission. His real name is never revealed throughout the novel. On the same note, the word ‘Kafka’ means crow in Czech, forming a relationship between ‘The Boy named Crow’ and himself.



Kafka meets Sakura, who might be his sister. A friendly librarian named Oshima and Miss Saeki, the library’s in charge. On the other hand, the tragic story of old Nakata, who suffered a life-changing accident during his childhood in which he lost his memories and the ability to read and write lives on the subsidy that the government provides him. It can be speculated that the accident may have gifted him with the power to communicate with cats. He forms a special bond with cats as they teach him the ways of the world. With the help of this unique superpower, he is able to help desperate families find their beloved lost cats. Nakata plays an integral part in the story.


Murakami has several works to his credit. Unfortunately, Kafka on the Shore is a story that will entangle you in its labyrinth but will leave you with loose ends instead of pulling you ashore. There are several alternative theories.



VERDICT

Murakami is notorious for not giving explanations for his works. Therefore, his works are open to a wide spectrum of interpretations, especially in the case of Kafka on the Shore. Art must be so. It must be viewed with individual, free eyes and at times turn a rotten eye to the author’s point of view. Nevertheless, Murakami did not fail to captivate his readers.


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