Book Review #12 - Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Good Day,

Kafka on the Shore

by Murakami

Kafka on the Shore is a book which focuses mainly on giving a well rounded experience to its readers.

Summary:

A 15 year old boy named Kafka Tamura runs away from his psychopath father and a revolting prophecy made by him. In a journey to become the toughest 15 year old and seek knowledge he moves from Tokyo to Takamatsu. Here  a series of events take place, which at first place are utterly coincidental yet one day he wakes up with a bloody shirt. Where will this lead him?

Will Kafka outrun his prophesied destiny?

Review:

Story starts off slow, plot of the book is expanding gradually, new characters are introduced. I mean normally this is the case with every movie, book or song but I felt as if how much broader or thicker it is going to get as scope was swinging from one place to another. It was not getting incomprehensible, yet from reader's perspective author would have to pull a huge stunt to connect this ever expanding plot. Now the beauty of this book lies in the way Murakami has fruitfully connected all the dots and it feels totally organic. Let's develop an analogy here, plot of the book is a spectrum of light(VIBGYOR), author is the prism which/who converts that one spectrum into a story with mind boggling climax(white light).

Talking about characters, you will intuitively feel connected to them, as all of them are utterly passionate in their own way.

 "Only a passionate man can engender passionate character".   

This book has all the 'seven ras' required for a perfect story-line. After Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead' I have felt that this book has some of the most engaging conversations. I had to re-read them to get the proper understanding of what they were talking about. This book deals with magical realism, to say that it is profound would be an understatement.

Author has been exceptionally zealous, when it comes to providing description of places. Highlight would be how he vividly narrates the encounter had by the Kafka, all you have to do is to close your eyes and you will be there after reading the passage. I have to say that Murakami is an astute observer of human behaviour as well as his surroundings. Attention to detail is awesome. His way of writing is exceedingly effective in bringing out the proper emotions. Murakami makes it utterly easy for you to connect with the moment using simple language which has been satisfying for me. What else would you want from a book? Look out for the part of Kafka's stay at a Cabin in the mountain, it is mind blowing.

Coming to the question of the book, it will be sufficient to say that not even Voldemort, Ravaan, Achilies or Pandavas were able to outrun their destiny. Yet it is author's mastery how he did not let Kafka get away. 

"Birth and Death are predestined. No one can outrun their destiny, you can only choose how you get there."

-Khilan Pandya