"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami

Title: "Kafka on the Shore"
Author: Haruki Murakami
Pages: 489
Genre: Contemporary Literary, Surrealism
Standalone/Series: Standalone
Publisher: Vintage

Why Pick it Up: An entry for the Japanese Reading Challenge 3 and have seen it recommended at least 100 times, so there was no way I was going to miss reading this book.

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If “After Dark” was simply an appetizer of what Murakami has to offer, then “Kafka on the Shore” is a five course meal. If the first was a picture spied from a keyhole, then the second is a majestic view from a plane. If the first is the gentle lick of the shore waves, then the second is the full blown force of a tsunami. Analogies and comparisons aside you get the drift that “Kafka on the Shore” is one powerhouse of a novel and the best definition for it can be one of the books that you have to read several times in your life to understand better and even then you couldn’t possibly piece everything together to unravel its true meaning.

“Kafka on the Shore” starts innocently enough tracking the lives of Kafka Tamura, who has to be the toughest 15 year old kid in order to make it through life as a runaway from home, and Mister Nakata, an old man isolated from society because of his inability to learn and grasp concepts. Even at its beginning the novel kisses reality goodbye and submerged the reader into surrealism, when Mr. Nakata has his first conversation with a cat, a talent he had since he was a little child. From then everything and anything seems possible and logical as the paths both protagonists tread one entwine, morph and blossom into a scenic illusion that seems only possible in the dream world.

Murakami is a genius at passing the surrealistic as the general rule in the world and this has to do much with the craftsmanship he has over characterization, achieved both by superb author narration, introspective character POV and erudite dialogue. The end result is a cast, which is rich, unusual and captivating.

Mr. Nakata is the simple man with poor mental faculties, but chosen by fate to fulfill something that must be done. His soul is exposed as that of simplicity in life, not constricted by manmade civilization and yet it is enveloped in such mystery and it is even hinted that he is capable of miracles such as making fish and slugs rain from the skies. He is on a journey, but the he doesn’t search for the road for the road finds him. Kafka as the other prime character is equally exotic in his inner world. He’s a hermit of his own device and is running away from the family curse put on by his father, which in the end he fulfills as a way to be over with it and set himself free.

Of course there is Miss Saeki, the quiet librarian, who has already died inside, but could have been so much more as her past reveals. I also grew to love Oshima, the gay man trapped in the body of woman, who is erudite and almost a human equivalent of the kitsune in his cunning and sharp mind.

But it’s not just characters that stole my breath away, but the way Murakami has referenced to other famous works and incorporated and reincarnated ageless tropes. Impossible love? Yes and how more impossible can it be when the woman you love is the spirit of a memory that has passed decades ago. Soul searching and becoming one with nature? Yes this trope has never been so literal, beautiful and surrealistic before. There is so much more. Mr. Nakata’s journey reminds me so much of Don Quixote, although it’s not exactly the same and Kafka’s curse is the myth of Oedipus, represented in the most impossible way imaginable.

“Kafka on the Shore” is a novel that deserves many re-reads for another reason as well. It’s a culture bomb. Murakami is an erudite man with a broad personal culture, which seems to have the whole swallowed inside, because there have been so many musicians, artists, writers and other historical figures mentioned that even a high brow aristocrat would need some research to learn about and then understand how these names subtly influence the story and add hues that might only come in light of both research and rereading.

"After Dark" by Haruki Murakami

This is an entry for the Japanese Reading Challenge. Haruki Murakami’s taken over the world or so it seems, because whenever I turn my head away from speculative fiction I hear only the best possible things about his works from both fellow book addicts and critical venues. He’s been highly recommended and his work’s been translated in god knows how many languages, I decided to test the waters and the first dip with the tip of my fingers was “After Dark”.

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To be quite honest I found it hard to switch gears and read something so tranquil, muted in voice and in prose, after being submerged in speculative fiction for so long, where adventures spread with dangers, caped in great analogies, metaphors and comparisons. To read paragraph after paragraph about what sort of objects a room is fashioned with in a matter-of-fact manner was something that slowed my reading speed.

I’m a Coelho reader and I’ve gotten used to sparse prose that instead is rich in meaning, so it took little to adjust. If I dare say I think that Murakami is the Japanese answer to Coelho, the same way manga is the Japanese answer to comic books. Both authors have Spartan writing styles, but with every story told your soul gains a new nuance, which is very rare indeed.

“After Dark” follows several protagonists: how they spend their nights, why they’re awake, which illuminates their inner worlds and projects them to the readers without anything to hinder this. Mari Asai is a quiet girl, who wanders from establishment to establishment and reads her heavy book, not wanting to return home. Takahashi is a law student and trombone player, who is spending his last night playing in order to ground himself to reality. Kaoru is a former female pro-wrestler now a love hotel owner with kind heart and a strong sense for justice. Eri Asai, Mari’s sister, is sleeping, but is being watched by someone not quite from this world.

Ordinary, but diverse stories spin, complicate and reveal what can only the night hold as a stage for life’s machinations.

“After Dark” is quite the short novel, but that doesn’t stop it from being quite meaningful. It’s a novel about isolation, about people that are alone in one way or another and through their interaction I saw how the world is in fact such a small place, where everyone is connected to everybody else through different people. Complete strangers cross paths, but as readers we’re well informed that these people share cause-effect relations that shape their night. In this sense society is a breathing organism shaped by the interactions of people and the ripple the individual actions cause. You are alone, abandoned or a runaway from contact, from your life, and yet one decision made by you shifts the whole night for quite a few people.

What made this even more a pleasurable read was the flirtation with surrealism, the liquid transition from one narrative character to another, including the introduction of new narrators and the obvious voyeuristic touches. I have never been ordered by the author to become a presence and spy from above and different angles what happens in a novel. It was new and so pleasurable to be included directly into the story as a silent protagonist, who is nothing more than a voyeur. At first glance there is nothing that interesting happening. You’re just watching people live their lives, but just as eavesdropping swallows us in, being a silent shadow amidst someone else’s life and observing the intimacy that the darkest night can inspire is addicting.

“After Dark” certainly has made me become a Murakami reader and I mean what is there not to love. There are likeable characters, which peak your curiosity, meaningful prose and such a wonderful use for popular culture and music as a certain font, setting a mental soundtrack to further heighten the experience and also proving how erudite and how rich Murakami’s inner culture is.

Highly recommended.