Kafka On The Shore

Of all the books I read while I was in Mexico - seven that I actually finished, two I abandoned -- Haruki Murakami's Kafka On The Shore was by far the most powerful and the one that has stuck with me. The novel is surreal - to sum up the plot in a few sentences is to miss what makes the book so strong, which is the language, the rhythym and tone of the story.

But, I'm nothing if not adventurous, so let's give it a try. The story takes place in Japan, where a boy, who calls himself Kafka, runs away from home. We learn this is to try to escape living out a horrific Oedipal curse his father has told him he has. Simulatenously, it is the story of an older man, horribly damaged as a schoolboy in an unexplained incident during WWII. Despite his mental limitations, he becomes a central figure in Kafka's life as he's drawn towards him in surreal, dreamlike encounters.

Like I said, summing it up is hard, even moreso if I mentioned that two characters are named Johnny Walker and Colonel Sanders. You might think that makes the book funny, and you'd be right. It's also terribly sad, and poetic, and something else I'm not quite sure about. What I do know is that reading this book feels like I've found another writer whose work I wait for, and what's better is that he has a whole library I haven't explored yet. I could be disappointed, but Kafka On The Shore is clearly one of the better books I've read in years.

Rating: 9.5/10.0