How does he do this?? Haruki Murakami. He writes these crazy freaking weird-ass stories that are so bizarre and out there and yet they are so, so, sooooo good.

It's insane. Where does he get his ideas from and how does he make the outlandish seem not just possible, but normal?

That's the weirdest thing -- as weird as they are, the stories sound legit. 100% realistic.  As my friend Hanneke said, "You just let the story wash over you and not wonder whether the 'possibilities'... are magical or not. "

You're sitting there reading and some old dude starts having a conversation with a cat - a literal, two-sided conversation - and instead of going, "Whoa, wait a minute, this can't happen!", your brain just accepts that it can and it does and it is. It just fits so well into the story that it's not at all crazy for some old dude to have a literal conversation with a cat.

And then it starts raining sardines and mackerels and leeches. Shiny, scaly fish and slithery slimy leeches pour from the sky and no one bats an eye! 

Then in walks the teenage ghost of a fifty-year old woman who's still alive and same thing. Nothing seems out of the ordinary.

All of this and more happens in Kafka on the Shore. It tells the story of a young kid who runs away from home to escape a curse his father put upon him. The characters make this book. There is young Kafka and there is the old man who converses with cats, and then of course the cats themselves. 

There are the librarians, one of whom has the ghost of her younger self wandering through the book. 

There is the truck driver who decides to help Old-Man-Who-Talks-With-Cats and who is every bit as interesting as the other characters even though he's perhaps the most normal. 

There is Colonel Sanders, yep, the guy from KFC. He pimps philosophy-majoring prostitutes. There are soldiers who never age. There are a whole host of weird and eccentric and unbelievable - yet 100% believable - characters.

This is my fifth Haruki Murakami book and it is my favourite so far. It is fantastical and philosophical and fun.

I won't go into the plot... it's as weird as the characters. But damn! What a book! If you're a fan of Murakami, you do not want to miss this one. And if you've never read him before, I think this is the one to start with. (Ironically, I've said that with each of his books I've read.) 

Just pick one and read it. Any one.

-- " يومًا ما ستقتلُ أباك ، وستنام مع أمّك ، وستعاشر أختك "
فرّ هاربًا من نبوءة أبيه ، فهل ينجح ؟
-- أعتذر في البداية عن طول المراجعة .
-- بمثل هذه الأعمال ، يرتفع شأن الأدباء ، ويتمتّع القرّاء .
-- أرشحّها لأصحاب الذوق الرفيع .
-- جميل أن تشعر بأدقّ التفاصيل من حولك كما شعر بها موراكامي من خلال شخصيّاته ..
-- دائمًا أكرّر أنّ الكاتب كثير التفاصيل زاخر الإبداع .
-- انضمّ يا موراكامي إلى إخوتك من المبدعين الآخرين .
-- جمال الكاتب في بساطته ، في رسمه الابتسامة على.وجهك ، والرواية بها الكثير من المواقف الطريفة التي لا تلبث أن تضحك لتصوّر مواقفها ، أعجبني جدًا وصفه لانفعالات الأبطال .
-- طريقة حديث " ناكاتا " عن نفسه و كأنّها شخصٌ آخر متفرّد بذاته و منفصل عنه غاية في الروعة .
-- صادفت قراءتي لتلك الرواية ، قطّة تعيش معي رغمًا عنّي ، و لمعرفة قصّتها يُنصح بالقراءة من هنا :
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.gala...
-- تمنّيت جدًا أن أتحدّث مع القطّة كما يتحدّث ناكاتا إلى القطط .
-- الحنكليس : أكلة " ناكاتا " المفضلّة ، أتذّكر أنّي شاهدته من قبل في فيلم كوري جنوبي اسمه " OldBoy" ، أكله البطل وهو حي يلعب في الطبق !
-- أعجبتني بشدّة الحوارات الدائرة في الرواية ، خصوصًا الحوار بين " ناكاتا " و " جوني ووكر " ،
كان غاية في الإمتاع والإبداع ، حوار فلسفي رهيب .
-- تحيّاتي للمترجمة المصريّة " إيمان حرز الله " ، ترجمة أكثر من رائعة .
-- هناك سحر خاص لكلّ شخصيّة في الرواية ، حتّى القطط :)
-- جميلة هي طريقة الدخول في قلب الأحداث ، ثمّ العودة بعد ذلك للتعريف بالشخصيّات ، حدث هذا مع كل أبطال الرواية .
-- أحتاج إلى شخص يعيد عظامي إلى موضعها ، كما فعل ناكاتا إلى هوشينو .
-- شعرت بروح " نظريّة التقمّص "_ التّي قرأت عنها كثيرًا في كتابات جبران _ تتجلّى بشدّة في الرواية .
-- عرفنا معنى اسم " كافكا " في الصفحة 459 .
-- ناكاتا : سحرني بتلقائيّته ، شخصيّته ، انبهاره عند ذهابه للمكتبة بالأنواع الكثيرة من القطط في العالم التي لم يتحدّث معها من قبل ، حزن جدًا على جهله بالقراءة .
-- الرواية بها قصّتان متوازيتان ، تتقاطع أحداثهما في النّهاية .
-- إن لم أعطِ هذه خمس نجوم ، فأي الروايات أعطي ؟!
-- النقاشات بين " أوشيما " و " كافكا " حول الكتب تفتح للقارئ مجالات و أبواب واسعة للقراءة في الأدب الياباني ، ذكيّ جدًا يا موراكامي .
-- من أين لك بهذا الخيال يا ابن بلاد الشمس المشرقة ؟!
-- الفترة التي استغرقتها صفحات الرواية ال " 672 " أسبوعان تقريبًا ، شكّلت حياةً كاملة ل"كافكا " و " هوشينو " .
العبرة ليست بطول العمر أو قصره ، العبرة بكمّ الخبرات و المعرفة و التجارب المكتسبة ،
أرى كثيرين حولي قاربوا على النّهاية ولم ينهلوا من المعرفة إلّا قليلًا ، أفكار و عقائد راسخة ورثوها عن آبائهم و أجدادهم و لا مجال لمراجعتهم فيها أو رؤية أفكار جديدة .
-- أعشق جدًا هذا النوع من الروايات ،
أتساءل طوال الرواية : هل هذا واقع أم خيال ؟ ،
حلم أم حقيقة ؟!
حقيقةً إبداعٌ لا يوصف ترك أثرًا كبيرًا في نفسي ،
لا أستطيع أن أوفيه قدره في المدح ،
قد تبدو الرواية للبعض تافهة وعاديّة و فكرتها ساذجة ،
إلّا أنّي أرى أنّها أبعد ما تكون عن ذلك ، أراها متشعّبة المعارف ، كثيرة الأركان ، بطريقة عرض أكثر من رائعة ، و بلا أي ملل ، لو كان وصل لألف صفحة لم أكن لأتذّمر حيال ذلك !
-- بدايتي مع الأدب الياباني ، ولن تكون الأخيرة إن شاء الله .

Edifyingly Strange

Yes Murakami is weird; and coincidence reigns; and there are nuances that only the Japanese can comprehend. But somehow each of these potential flaws adds to his charm as a writer and the mystery of his stories. I highly recommend Google Earth to follow the action and get a sense of each location.

DNF'D @ page 186

HELP- my brain hurts and I understand nothing

No wonder Kafka on the Shore was on the New York Times "10 Best Books of 2005" list. It's one of the most engaging and magical pieces of literature I've read. Reality is unclear. The book presses the boundaries of what exists around the characters versus what exists in their minds. Powerful forces guide the characters--some known, some unknown. Odd things happen within the context of everyday Japan. Mackarel rains from the sky. A metaphysical overseer appears under the guise of Colonel Sanders; a villian under the guise of Johnny Walker. The forest contains ghosts. Everyday objects suddenly take on supernatural functions.

Fifteen-year-old Kafka Tamura runs away from home and finds himself in Takamastu, where he discovers a charming, privately owned public library to spend his days until things get complicated. Turns out the events in his life--and possibly even his body--is intralinked with a man named Nakata. When Nakata was a child during World War II, a mysterious force in a field put him and several other schoolchildren in a coma, but Nakata's mind was the only one erased entirely. As an adult, though mentally challenged, he has the ability to communicate with cats (along with several other larger-than-life talents). Surreal forces draw Nakata, all which relate to Kafka Tamura's world.

The desk assistant at the library, who immediately befriends Kafka, often references mythology--these references all end up being manifestations of the characters and the plot itself. Because of this, in many ways the book mirrors the spirit of Franz Kafta's works(how intentional these associations are by Murakami, I'm not sure).

I was drawn to this book for the mood that it presented. It opened my imagination and set my spirit spinning with possibilities and ideas. It's rare to find a story with this effect. The prose, as always by Murakami, grabs you from the get-go--it's charming, smooth, and intelligent without being pretentious. An amazing read.

"Beyond the edge of the world there's a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop."

Alternating chapters tell the stories of two, apparently unconnected, characters: Kafka (not THE Kafka) and Nakata. Its most fundamental theme is the paradoxical nature of edges and boundaries (literal, spiritual, ethical): that they can both separate and connect.
“There is a kind of warp at work in the world.”
"That's how stories happen - with a turning point, an unexpected twist.”


Image: Untitled work by Slorence that is a Möbius strip and circle, with grasses (Source)

Initially, contrasts dominate: young and old; first person and third; clever and not; running away and running towards; logical and instinctive. Slowly, similarities accumulate: seeking to recover what’s lost, and a shared nemesis. The nature of connections and separation is tantalisingly opaque.

“I’m walking by the shores of consciousness.”
Thus, when the reality of different realms is muddled, and infused and confused with dreams, there is no escape via physical distance - perhaps no escape at all. And yet they run...
“In everybody's life there’s a point of no return.”

Spotting the clues, weighing the significance, pondering the meaning… that’s the pleasure and challenge.

There’s blood (literal, symbolic, and with transformative power), fire, Crow (and crows), memories, libraries, talking cats, a mystical forest, a supernatural stone, and the weight of fate and prophecy.


Image: “Wrath 2” by Dejan Zdravkovic. It’s a raven, but ravens are a type of crow, and a burnt crow is relevant for this book. (Source)

The title

The title refers to the lyrics of a (fictional) song and a picture of it. Every line has a word that is a key part of the novel. This is far more subtle than the rather heavy-handed way the Oedipus myth is repeatedly referenced.

You sit at the edge of the world,
I am in a crater that’s no more.
Words without letters
Standing in the shadow of the door.

The moon shines down on a sleeping lizard,
Little fish rain down from the sky.
Outside the window there are soldiers,
Steeling themselves to die.

Kafka sits in a chair by the shore,
Thinking of the pendulum that moves the world, it seems.
When your heart is closed.
The shadow of the unmoving Sphinx
Become a knife that pierces your dreams.

The drowning girl’s fingers
Search for the entrance stone, and more.
Lifting the hem of her azure dress,
She gazes –
At Kafka on the shore.

Quotes

•t“All I wanted was to go off to some other world, a place beyond anybody’s reach. A place beyond the flow of time.”

•t“A deserted library… all possible words and ideas are there, resting peacefully.”

•t"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."

•t“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.”

•t“I don’t register in her eyes… I’m not in her dream. She and I are in two separate worlds, divided by an invisible border.”

Additional notes and quotes

For more notes and quotes, and a more tangible description of characters and plots, as well as a section about Murakami's controversial portrayal of women, see my alternative “review”, on GR, HERE, which has spoilers.

This is a crazy read!

Having gotten my hands on Kafka on the Shore, I couldn't put it down and read it through the night. This time, Haruki Murakami’s sorcery and magic are unleashed with such force that it's impossible to resist.

This novel follows the story of a young boy named Kafka Tamura, who, under the weight of his father's sinister curse, takes a night bus to Takamatsu and finds work in a small library in the suburbs. What secrets does the extraordinary librarian Oshima harbor? Is the beautiful librarian Saeki really Tanaka's mother? Will he truly fulfill the Oedipal prophecy of sleeping with his mother and sister, killing his father?

It can be seen as a mind-boggling dream, in which horrific events unfold inexorably. As the dream ends, our world is also transformed along with it. All these bizarre incidents are narrated in Murakami's characteristically neutral and gentle tone, with a wealth of details that are vivid and lifelike yet restrained and not overly embellished. When I finish reading, I can't help but ask: Is this really a dream?

In many of his works, Murakami frequently mentions the concept of "the edge of the world." What is the edge of the world?

To escape the police, Oshima drives at high speed, taking Tanaka to a cabin at the edge of the forest, accompanied by Schubert's piano sonatas. This cabin, I could say, is the edge of our "normal" world. Here, shadows gradually envelop, and another world begins to emerge, hidden deep within the vast forest. What is that world? Hell? Death? Original sin? The unconscious?

This is the forest that Dante Alighieri trembled before in The Divine Comedy, and the dark pine forest where Nathaniel Hawthornes Goodman Brown discovered his wife's secret. Even in an extended sense, it is the Norwegian Forest that seduced Watanabe and swallowed up Naoko, deep, dark, and terrifyingly beautiful. It is because Tanaka Kafka has been far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world that he is able to wander on the edge of the world, finally breaking through the boundaries at all costs, returning to the womb, comprehending the truth, facing his own sins, and reaching the heart of darkness.

The other parallel line in the novel tells the story of the strange old man Nakata, who is as innocent and pure as a child. Due to war trauma, he has lost all his memories and lives a very simple life on a meager pension, even unable to buy tram tickets. However, he can understand cat language and can summon fish and leeches to fall from the sky. Nakata is also a figure who wanders on the edge of the world. His brain is a vast void, and it is precisely because of this that he is closer to the truth than anyone else, or rather, he is the truth.

Unable to bear the cruel torture of cats by someone who calls himself Johnny Walker, Nakata kills him and embarks on a journey to close the gates of the world. This line is closely linked to Tanaka's inner journey. Nakata faces the cruelty and evil of the external world, while Tanaka faces the temptations and sins of the heart. In the end, these two lines converge in Takamatsu. External sin and internal sin, are these not two sides of the same coin?

It is precisely on this point that Kafka on the Shore is both a fantasy myth and a work that faces reality. The question is, can external sin be ended with a sharp knife, and is internal sin so easily erased?

On the surface, Kafka Tamura seems to be stronger and braver than Oedipus Rex, who only knows how to escape, while Tanaka dares to take the initiative to break through the barriers and go straight into the forbidden zone. However, the overcoming of sin is also the completion of sin. The core of this eternal tragic fate has not changed much in the two thousand years since then.

Perhaps Murakami’s meaning can be understood in this way: we are all lost souls, and there is no salvation that is pure and perfect. The important thing is that we are on our way. Perhaps.

Crazy Murakami. But honestly, it is his unique blend of realism, fantasy, and philosophical exploration that completely captivated me.

5 / 5 stars

My other reviews of Murakami's Work:
The City and Its Uncertain Walls
Norwegian Wood
1Q84
Hear the Wind Sing
Kafka on the Shore
Sputnik Sweetheart
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
South of the Border, West of the Sun
After Dark

" كل منا يفقد شيئاً عزيزاً عليه ، فرصاً ، إمكانيات ، مشاعر لا يمكن إستعادتها أبداً . كل هذا جزء من معني كوننا نعيش "

،
أنهيتها وعلي عيني أن أنهيها حقاً .. أنها تلك الرواية التي حين تقرأها لا تريد لها أن تنتهي ، ظلت كل تفاصيلها عالقة في ذهني مذ قرأتها من سنة وشهور .. ظل صوت هاروكي كل ذلك الوقت في رأسي .. كالهمس

كل شئ مذهل وكل شئ رائع ، وحينما أراجع رواية لهاروكي أحتار بين الكلام عنها أو عنه ، لكن دعوني أقول شيئاً كإبتداء ..

لا أدري إن كنتم تتفقون ولكن دوماً ما أشعر وكأن أسلوب هاروكي يشبه الهمس الذي في رأسك دوماً ، دوماً ما تشعر أن هناك صوت في رأسك يحدثك ولا تشعر مصدره ، حينما أقرأ لهاروكي أشعر أن الكلام نابع مني وليس يأتيني من الكتاب ، أنه شعور داخلي لا يمكن أن أصفه

بإمكانك أن تجد كل ما تريد أن تعرفه عن تلك الرواية سلباً أو إيجاباً من مراجعات الأصدقاء ، لذا ساتحدث أنا بعشوائية وبدون ترتيب ، وأنتقل سريعاً إلي العجوز ناكاتا ، أنه من أبرع الشخصيات التي رسمها كاتب أبداً .. شخص لا نعرف عنه سوي الغرابة والحكمة الساذجة والرضا ، يرتبط معنا طيلة صفحات الرواية بأنه هذا الشخص الغبي .. حتي قبل النهاية بقليل يحدث التحول والتطور ، ناكاتا يريد أن يكون عاقلاً ، ناكاتا الذي أحبناه ساذجاً وغبياً يكره نفسه الآن ، ويشعر أن حياته كانت فارغة ، لقد كان هذا أمراً مؤلماً .. حينما يرحل ناكاتا يرحل تاركاً في نفس القارئ أثراً من ندم علي كونه أحب تلك الشخصية بغبائها وسذاجتها ، لأنه ظلمه ..

ولعل السحر الأكبر الذي ينبع من قلم هاروكي موراكامي هو كونه يشعر بنا ، وحينما أقول بنا أنا أقصد نحن الشاب والمراهقين ، هو لا يجعلنا نقرأ فقط ، هو يجعلنا نسمع ونشاهد ، يمزج هاروكي أدبه بالسينما والموسيقي ، يعطيك جو عام من الفن ، يحيي الفن في داخلك ، وينعش نفسك بكلماته ومقطوعاته وأفلامه .. هذا ما نريده ، تلك هي فترتنا التي لن تعود مرة أخري والتي لن نستطيع أن نقرأ ونشاهد ونسمع بقدر ما نحن نستطيع الآن .. لذا القراءة لهاروكي وكافكا تحديداً هي عصارة كل ما تحب وتهوي وتريد ..

براعة هاروكي في رسم الشخصية حقيقة هو شئ يجعلك تقف له إحتراماً لبراعته في فعل هذا الأمر ، فحتي الشخصيات الهامشية يعطيها إهتماماً يجعلها تأسرك ، فقط صاحب مقهي كان مدرساً يوماً ما يأخذ حيز غير مهم من الرواية ، ولكنه يجعلك تتمني لو قابلته يوماً لتناقشه عن الفن والموسيقي ، الكولونيل ساندريس تلك الشخصية القادرة علي أن تميتك ضحكاً في تلك الرواية السريالية الكئيبة .. أو شخصية هوشينو ، ربما خط الأحداث عموماً بين هوشينو وناكاتا هو الأفضل والأمتع في تلك الرواية وشخصياته هي الأفضل ، هوشينو هو نحن ، هوشينو علي ما أظن علي الأقل هو أنا .. مراهق وشاب جامح لا حدود له في الحياة ، ولا معني ولا هدف ، يتعثر بالصدفة في شخص يعلمه ويغير محور حياته تماماً ، كان هذا ناكاتا في حياة هوشينو ، ولكل هوشينو منا ناكاتا الخاص به ..

أريد أن أتكلم عن النساء عند هاروكي ولكن سبق وأن حذرتكم في الغابة النروجية أنك ستحبهن جمعيهن ، فهو يتلذذ ويبدع في رسم شخصيات النساء بغض النظر عن العمر والشكل ، هو يرسم روحاً وجوهراً جديراً بالعشق والوله ..

أنا لن أتحدث عن كافكا وخط سيره وأوشيما وحياة العزلة والمكتبة ، أنها تجربة أجدر بأن تعيشها أو تقرأها لا أن تحكي عنها .. فهي مليئة بالكثير من الأمور التي ستتعلمها ، فيها الكثير من الفلسفة والحكمة والمعلومات الكثيرة ، ولكن للأسف نحن لسنا في اليابان حتي تستطيع أن تعيش تلك التجربة بنفسك ، أنت هنا في عالم صاخب ووطن لا يسمح لك بأن تكون معزولاً ووحيداً إذا أردت ..

في النهاية أتدري تلك القصة الرمزية عن أن الكنز كان في الرحلة ، هذه هي الرواية .. لن تصل إلي شئ في النهاية .. ولكن كل شئ تريده كان أثناء قرائتك لها ..

القراءة لهاروكي موراكامي ، من الأشياء الممتعة في الحياة التي لن تكلفك الكثير ، فإغتنمها

Sometimes, good books sneak up on you.

And sometimes they lead you out into deep dark forests, and sometimes they surprise you into completely losing your ego, destroying that fantastic Romantic musical embellishment and tumbling you into places where it's okay to talk to rocks and cats and have them talk back to you. Or enact your very own Oedipal fantasy. Or just fall in love with libraries.

Or maybe this wonderfully low-key novel about a simple old man who can't read going on a journey with an interesting lorry driver is just written by a master. I've read a few others by Murakami but none are QUITE as great as this. And Kafka, himself? I've never met a more dedicated and careful 15-year-old in my life. It's kinda amazing just how much trouble he kinda gets into as he runs away from home.

I love every single character in this book. It's like sucking on a lemon drop that lasts for the entire length of the novel. It feels like great SF. It reads like great Fantasy. But above all, it reads like a classic of literature. :)

Saying much more will spoil all the reveals. The wonderful reveals. :) This journey.

Murakami has become a firm favourite of mine for his wonderful blend of the metaphysical and magical realism with ordinary life and people.Truly remarkable. Haruki Murakami is a rare author.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami leaves the reader with more questions unanswered than are easily and superficially wound up in a mainstream fiction.

Using subtle fantasy, magic realism, repetition, interweaving symbols and metaphors, the author has created a post-modern heir to Sophocles; and Murakami ties it all together as good as Jeff Lebowski’s rug. This is more finely tuned than Kafka’s absurdist comedy, and more well rounded.

He references and alludes to Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Western philosophy, Jungian synchronicity, and Eastern spiritualism. He also uses frank, earthy sexuality that is evocative of Norman Mailer or John Barth. Murakami takes his easel deep into our subconscious psyche and paints a labyrinthine watercolor of the underside of our collective iceberg.

One way that I know that a book is good, great even, is that I know I will think about it after I have finished, and I have a firm belief that this book will come back to me, will stay with me, for some time.

This is a psychological quest, a spiritual journey – a profound and meaningful fantasy, distinct from the work of authors such as Neil Gaiman and China Mieville by his affinity for magic realism, his close but surreal connection to the modern.

This magnificent work is a document from the borderlands between this world and another.

Murakami is a master of conjuring up chance encounters; he is a master of making the mundane seem magical, mystical and alluring.

And that is his greatest strength as a writer; he uses it to lure you in and to tell you an extraordinary story that makes life seem just that little bit more interesting. He creates possibility out of the most basic human connections and conversations. He shows us the randomness of life that give it colour, flavour and excitement. There’s possibility everywhere.

I am not going to talk about the plot because it is not what makes this story so special. The characters are not all that interesting either. For me, it is all about the magical realist lens in which Murakami writes. It makes the ordinary seem extraordinary. And he can do it exceptionally well. In fact, I would go as far as to say I do not know of any other writer who does it quite as well. There is just something about his books. They have a certain unique characteristic that make them distinctively his own, I cannot quite put my finger to it. And they are always totally profound.

n  “Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”n

This quote sums up so much of the main motif of this book and perhaps even life itself. We’re all struggling. We’re all trying to make our way. And this is captured beautifully here.

I must say, I've struggled greatly with Murakami as of late. His recent books Killing Commendatore and Men Without Women have been quite basic. Here, though, the author is the height of his powers. He is totally in control of his craft and it's amongst his finest of works. And it actually makes me want to go back and read the rest of his works because I now remember just how fantastic he can be.

So more Murkami for me in the future.

__________________________________

You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
__________________________________