Wow, I think this is the first reread I've done where the book DROPPED in rating. I have always considered Kafka to be one of my faREREAD 2021 3/5stars
Wow, I think this is the first reread I've done where the book DROPPED in rating. I have always considered Kafka to be one of my favorite Murakami's, but to be completely honest, I really didn't enjoy my rereading experience. I'm not sure if it was because I personally was in a bad mental health space when i picked this up, or if it truly is just THAT different from what I remember, but this was definitely not what I was expecting to feel coming out of this reread.
When first reading this book I liked, like with all Murakami books, how weird it was, how confused it made me feel, and how unique the story is. But, upon reread, I found this book extremely easy to read, mostly plot focused, and I found myself not caring or straight up hating characters and plot arcs. Kafka is insufferable, the incest and sex is honestly just too much, the entire Oedipus Rex retelling aspect of this book is just a big ole' "WHY" in my mind, I loved Nakata's parts up until it got far more boring in the middle sections, and the characters just didn't speak to me like they usually do. I didn't find it that weird or unique (maybe because I read it before? but also I've never felt that with a Murakami book - especially FIVE YEARS after reading it), I didn't find the whole mystery weirdness to it very difficult to figure out (but, I have gotten 3 degrees since first reading this book so maybe I just was able to read it and figure things out easier?) and overall there wasn't that Murakami charm I'm always so excited for. There was no spark to this book for me - again, it might be my mental health, so I'll definitely be returning to this book one day, but for this reread, I just simply wasn't impressed.
FIRST READ 2016 4/5stars 3/31/16 Edit: I've decided to lower this to 4 stars and not put it on my favorites list. After sitting on it for a few days, this book was definitely excellent, but I simply didn't enjoy it as much as "Wind-Up Bird" or other 5star/favorite books!
5/5stars
"Kafka on the Shore" was my third novel of Murakami's that I read, and this was probably even better than "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle." Probably. And I LOVED "Wind-Up Bird", so this novel definitely lived up to my expectations from my love of that story.
In this novel we follow a young 15 year old runaway who has renamed himself to Kafka Tamura, and an elderly, mentally retarded man named Nakata, whose lived inevitably intertwine - without them meeting each other. While Kafka is running away from his problems with his neglectful father, Nakata is trying to discover the answer to his own mysteries. Both have their own quirks - such as Kafka's illusion of the "boy named Crow" and how Nakata can speak to cats after falling into a mysterious coma when he was nine years old. This story shows the incredible stories of both of these characters and the complex way their lives parallel and affect each other. Along with many other characters who obviously affect the two of them.
While "Wind-up Bird" was written like a dream, in an almost un-comprehensible way, where nearly nothing made sense, even in the end (which was personally one of my favorite parts - the mystery of the story) this book was just as complex, but made a LOT more sense. Although it left many questions in the end, it did wrap up in a much more understandable way. "Kafka" still had the wonderful magical realism and postmodern themes, which is obviously why I loved it so much Like I said, I might have liked this even more than "Wind-Up Bird," which is crazy because I've been OBSESSED with that book since I finished it - still thinking about it and running through it in my brain, STILL trying to figure out what on earth it was about. But this book still had the Murakami charm from "Wind-Up Bird" and it also made more sense. I honestly can't tell you right now which I liked more - because I liked them in very different ways. I enjoyed this in more of an actual story way, but the other book in more of a way where it has really affected me and my thinking of the world. And do I even need to mention the fact that every single character was WONDEFUL? Murakami is a genius when it comes to fleshing out characters and making the reader really connect with each and every one of them. Overall, this book was FABULOUS. It has all of that magical realism, postmodern, Murakami charm while still being a story that nearly every reader could follow.
I highly recommend this as a first novel of Murakami. Like I said, you still get his charm, while reading a story that is still easiER to follow than some of his other novels. But, of course, like all Murakami novels, this is definitely not for younger readers. This has very explicit sexual content, graphic violence that rivals "Wind-Up Bird" and a lot of adult themes to it even though we are following a 15 year old boy, and honestly some parts of this story are EXTREMELY disturbing.
Spoilers from here
I LOVED Oshima! He was the first LGBTQIA character I have seen in a Murakami novel, and he was so badass, I honestly loved him and everything he did and stood for in this novel. Good job Murakami, good job, A+. The boy named Crow was a very interesting touch. I found myself reading for pages and pages and suddenly realizing I had been reading a very simple, normal story, and then suddenly the boy named Crow would pop up and remind you exactly why this book was magical realism. That "character" (if you can call the boy named Crow a character?) still left you with many questions at the end, but also made the story much more interesting, though I wish we'd gotten a little more of an explanation about him - but it's Murakami, so obviously I was a bit too hopeful. I also just REALLY want to know what exactly happened when all the children, including Nakata, fell unconscious. It was obviously a way to make Nakata the way he was, but I just really want to know exactly what happened, it's killing me not knowing! Okay, that scene though, with Johnnie Walker and the cats and the eating the hearts UCK, that was actually rivaling the scene in "Wind-Up Bird" with how disgusting. I actually felt sick after reading it. Murakami is King of writing absolutely disgusting descriptions that are still really pretty: "It all happened in an instant. The belly split wide open and reddish guts spilled out. The cat tried to scream but barely made any sound at all. His tongue, after all, was numb, and he could hardly open his mouth. But his eyes were contorted in terrible pain... A moment later blood gushed out, wetting Johnnie Walker's hands and running down his vest... Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he popped the heart into his mouth and began chewing silently, leisurely savoring the taste." (page 144) This description goes on for several pages. Yum... And oh gosh, the cat from "Wind-Up Bird" made an appearance! I actually like audibly went "are you joking" while on a train and people stared at me. Oops: "A cat sauntering along stopped to watch, a skinny, brown-striped cat whose tail was slightly bent at the tip. A personable cat by the looks of it." (page 404) I also enjoyed some of the wonderful quotes from dialogue between characters there were. Here are some of my favorites: " 'Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time. It's just a natural feeling.' " -Oshima (page 297) " 'It's not just that I'm dumb. Nakata's empty inside. I finally understand that. Nakata's like a library without a single book. It wasn't always like that. I used to have books inside me. For a long time I couldn't remember, but now I can. I used to be normal, just like everybody else. But something happened and I ended up like a container with nothing inside." - Nakata (page 306) " 'You have to be strong to survive... Nobody's going to help me. At least no one has up till now. So I have to make it on my own. I have to get stronger - like a stray crow. That's why I gave myself the name Kafka... Strength itself become your morality.' " - Kafka (page 316) " 'The most amazing thing of all has been you, Mr. Nakata. You canged my life. These past ten days, I don't know - things look different to me now. Stuff I never would've given a second glance before seems different... Nothing like this ever happened to me before. And it's all because of you. I've started seeing the world through your eyes.' " - Hoshino (page 407) " 'The world is a metaphor, Kafka Tamura. But for you and me this library alone is no metaphor. it's always just this library... It's a unique, special library. And nothing else can ever take its place.'" -Oshima (page 465)
I don't think it's a very unique opinion that this is Oseman's worst book, and I don't think I'm unique in absolutely adoring every sing thing2/5stars
I don't think it's a very unique opinion that this is Oseman's worst book, and I don't think I'm unique in absolutely adoring every sing thing she touches and giving it 5 stars, but not vibing with this book. I'm glad I read it, as I DO adore her and it felt wrong to not have read her first book, and I adore the Heartstopper series which follows characters mentioned in this book, but I also kinda hated this lol
Let's start with some positives - this was incredibly fast to read - the premise of Solitaire as in the website is quite interesting, but also, i have no idea what the purpose of it was soooo - the main character can be relatable if you're feeling particularly 12 year old angsty
Now the negatives - the main character was INSUFFERABLE. This book was basically just a pretentious, precocious, annoying, self-pitying, hipster, emo tumblr girls' diary written up as a novel. I couldn't fucking STAND her. - honestly every character was insufferable. This was very similar to every John Green book with the manic pixie dream girl and every character being overly quirky teenagers - What the heck was this book even about?? Sometimes it was about friendships, sometimes about relationships, sometimes about bullying, sometimes about a dang computer/hacker thriller. I have no idea what the purpose of this book was. - Very predictable, if you've ever read a teenage high school book you know what's gonna happen - NOTHING is fleshed out besides Tori being a self-pitying, overly pessimistic, self absorbed, pretentious teenager - Charlie Spring is 100% more interesting than his sister, no wonder Heartstopper is so huge while this book isn't
Overall, not a very good book. I'm glad I read it cause it's Alice Oseman, but that's about it....more
This is the PERFECT Xmas read!! It's so cute and wholesome but also so REAL. I adored the characters, I loved the story, the smut was great,4.5/5stars
This is the PERFECT Xmas read!! It's so cute and wholesome but also so REAL. I adored the characters, I loved the story, the smut was great, and it overall was just a heart warming and nice read....more
This was a big meh for me. MAJOR trigger warning for dub/non-con. I just found the motivations for both the main characters to be lacking (lik2/5stars
This was a big meh for me. MAJOR trigger warning for dub/non-con. I just found the motivations for both the main characters to be lacking (like why TF did this chick stay in that house to begin with??). It was entertaining enough but maybe a bit TOO dark for me. I'm still learning my romance preferences though, so I'm glad I read it...more
This was a very bizarre fast and fun little read. It definitely didn't go where I thought it would, and while I really appreciate this being a4/5stars
This was a very bizarre fast and fun little read. It definitely didn't go where I thought it would, and while I really appreciate this being a short story, it could have easily been a 300 page novel and I would have read the whole thing. I really wish we had gotten a little bit more of Phil and Adam's relationship because I felt like it would have made the atmosphere a little more creepy, other than that this was very entertaining....more
This was a bit of a letdown after how much I ADORED the first book in this series. But, unfortunately, I'm just not a big fan of the same stor3/5stars
This was a bit of a letdown after how much I ADORED the first book in this series. But, unfortunately, I'm just not a big fan of the same story told from a different point of view - it's boring to me that I know how it's going to end. I also didn't enjoy these characters nearly as much. BUT I still really enjoyed it and the smut is god-tier!...more
This was such a great thriller. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat the entire time. It got so intense towards the en**spoiler alert** 4.25/5stars
This was such a great thriller. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat the entire time. It got so intense towards the end that I nearly was crying by the time I got to work. It was very well-paced and well fleshed out, which is all you can really ask for from a thriller, but it went above and beyond by having such great commentary on racism and islamophobia in America. The very end especially really solidified this book as an amazing one for me....more
I'm definitely still learning what I enjoy in smutty romances, and unfortunately this one just really wasn't for me. I'm ngl I skimmed the las2/5stars
I'm definitely still learning what I enjoy in smutty romances, and unfortunately this one just really wasn't for me. I'm ngl I skimmed the last 30% of this cause I couldn't deal with it
Several things about this I just don't like in ANY type of book - I have yet to read a pirate book I like. I find every pirate book is from a female pirates pov, and they're done terribly. They never SHOW WHY these pirate men respect or listen to them. They always create a "I don't need no man" woman pirate who, 2 seconds into something happens, needs a man. They all SAY they're strong women, but none of them really live up to that. - the plot was boring imo
Things I disliked in this for the smut/romance parts - cheating - EXTREMELY possessive behavior, like listen I enjoy the ultra masculine Dom trope, but these men were ridiculous and gross - constant threats of rape - this book was SUUUUUUPER repetitive with the sex scenes which made it eye rolling and boring. Especially at the beginning it was constant "let me use my body to force you to do something" and then no sex scene actually happened. - dislike intense sex scenes with no safety word that's a nope from me thanks
Other things I disliked - the internal monologue of the mc was UNBEARABLE. - the I'm not like other girls was UNBEARABLE. - the every man every being in love with her pick me girl trope was UNBEARABLE. - I dislike sexuality being a plot device/plot twist
What did I like about it? I mean, it was very quick to read, and not outrightly problematic. So... 2 stars...more
This was SO fun. The story/plot was very entertaining, gorey and interesting, the characters were fleshed out, and the smut was *chef's kiss4.5/5stars
This was SO fun. The story/plot was very entertaining, gorey and interesting, the characters were fleshed out, and the smut was *chef's kiss*. Big fan of Harley Laroux apparently!...more
I really do like Japanese thrillers so much more than Western ones. Japanese thrillers are so much quieter, more whimsical, with a bigger focu4/5stars
I really do like Japanese thrillers so much more than Western ones. Japanese thrillers are so much quieter, more whimsical, with a bigger focus on the mystery rather than the twists, violence, or drama of it. "The Aosawa Murders" is no different. It follows a stream of interviews by people directly involved and on the outskirts of a murder of 17 people in a family, and slowly tries to piece together what truly happened. The murders were many years previous, and the murderer was thought to have been found, but this novel slowly pulls back the folds of this story to figure out what truly happened. I also love how in Japanese thrillers there's never an evil villain speech or a long, drawn out explanation of exactly what happened. You get to make your own guess as to what the answer is, just like the people in this book....more
This was such a fun and wholesome but also thought-provoking book. Although I do not like short story collections, I found that the setup of t4/5stars
This was such a fun and wholesome but also thought-provoking book. Although I do not like short story collections, I found that the setup of this novel made the episodic and short story-esque chapters to be okay. This novel really reminds me of the k-drama mystic pop-up bar not because of the actual story but the setup is similar. I enjoy getting to know new characters and seeing their problems and their stories but also having an overarching story and characters that develop. I really liked this one and definitely recommend it....more
This was SO GOOD. The twist was impeccable, and obviously the conversation in this book was awesome. Def one of my fave thrillers I've read4.25/5stars
This was SO GOOD. The twist was impeccable, and obviously the conversation in this book was awesome. Def one of my fave thrillers I've read in a LONG time...more
**I AM A FIFTH GRADE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, NOT A CHILD THE AGE THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN FOR, SO PLEASE TAKE MY REVIEW WITH A GRAIN OF SALT*4/5stars
**I AM A FIFTH GRADE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, NOT A CHILD THE AGE THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN FOR, SO PLEASE TAKE MY REVIEW WITH A GRAIN OF SALT**
read this with my fifth grade students, they seemed to really love it and I really enjoyed the commentary made about immigration in this book, and also how it put said commentary into words that a child can understand. I do think this relied heavily on stereotypes though, which is what brought it down a bit for me....more
2022; a staple for the beginning of the school year for me now! perfect book to ease them into ELA:)
2021; I wouldn't normally review a children'5/5stars
2022; a staple for the beginning of the school year for me now! perfect book to ease them into ELA:)
2021; I wouldn't normally review a children's picture book on my Goodreads but I really wanted to shout out this book. I read this with my fifth grade special education students and they absolutely loved it. They were really able to connect to these characters and it sparked some incredible conversations about disability. My kids are older and they are also all very self-aware of their own disabilities. This book gave them all an opportunity to talk about themselves but also hear from their peers and learn more about each other. I think this book should be a staple for elementary School classrooms....more
Loading...
