finished this book in about 3 days (~470 pages), although I didn't really intend to do so, it just happened. kafka on the shore is a very symbolical double-story about kafka, a boy that decides to run away from home on his 15th birthday, and nakata, an old man who spends his time and life finding lost cats.
the story of these two combine and connect, but they never meet, at least not on the physical level. kafka ends up traveling here and there, and while it seems that he is choosing where he wants to go, he's not really. a curse of his father is following him, and he ends up going here and there almost because of fate. and nakata is the type of person that does not know why he's going somewhere, but only knows once he's actually there. a very odd person :)
I really liked reading this book... it was the kind that I didn't want to read because I was afraid I'd finish it too early. the story is simple to get, but I think the symbolism is very difficult to grasp at times, especially as haruki murakami said this about it himself: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write."
I wouldn't say that it's a life-changing book, but definitely worth reading to think about things. nakata's attitude to life is very pleasing at times, he simply goes wherever life takes him at that very moment; he doesn't really live for the future, but very much in the now. maybe something more of us should?
the story of these two combine and connect, but they never meet, at least not on the physical level. kafka ends up traveling here and there, and while it seems that he is choosing where he wants to go, he's not really. a curse of his father is following him, and he ends up going here and there almost because of fate. and nakata is the type of person that does not know why he's going somewhere, but only knows once he's actually there. a very odd person :)
I really liked reading this book... it was the kind that I didn't want to read because I was afraid I'd finish it too early. the story is simple to get, but I think the symbolism is very difficult to grasp at times, especially as haruki murakami said this about it himself: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write."
I wouldn't say that it's a life-changing book, but definitely worth reading to think about things. nakata's attitude to life is very pleasing at times, he simply goes wherever life takes him at that very moment; he doesn't really live for the future, but very much in the now. maybe something more of us should?
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