Kafka on the Shore
Rusty writer’s article: An insightful review and personal reflection on ‘Kafka on the Shore’ by Haruki Murakami
Asking questions is not a sign of dumbness, but a sign of confidence and curiosity
“Are you stupid or something?” This sentence came to mind when I was reading the book Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. You don’t need to search for that sentence in the novel or call me a liar because this sentence is not from that book but from the movie Forrest Gump. I think the similarity between this novel and the movie Forrest Gump is limited to both of them telling the story of a man with mental limitations. Besides that, they tell different stories.
Kafka on the Shore is the fourth book by Haruki Murakami that I have read, with the previous three books being the 1Q84 trilogy. So you could say my experience reading Haruki Murakami’s works is limited — well, we can surely say that because I’ve only read two of his works. But I think it’s not entirely wrong to provide a review and personal opinion on this novel, right? So let’s get started.
The storytelling style of the novel is exactly the same as 1Q84, or perhaps this is Haruki Murakami’s distinctive way of storytelling. Yeah, I suppose. Both novels have the characteristic of telling the story from two perspectives that, at some point, intersect, create conflicts, and end with a resolution.
In terms of the story, the novel tells the story of two individuals. The first is the first-person protagonist named Kafka, and the second one is another protagonist — an old man — named Nakata. Honestly, I am more interested in Nakata’s story because he reminds me of Forrest Gump; someone with mental disabilities who still manages to live life to the fullest.
The background of why Nakata has mental disabilities is that when he was a child during World War II, there was an event that defied reason. When Nakata and his friends were out hiking, a plane, suspected to be a warplane, flew over their heads. At that moment, all the children, including Nakata, collapsed instantly, as if they were affected by a chemical bomb. What was strange was that only the children were affected, while the teacher accompanying them was perfectly fine. Nakata’s friends woke up shortly after, but because Nakata didn’t wake up, he was eventually taken to a military hospital in Tokyo. Since then, Nakata was no longer his former self.
As for Kafka, the main character, there’s nothing particularly remarkable in my opinion. As usual, in Haruki Murakami’s novels, there are adult scenes, and everything happens from Kafka’s perspective. Then, like a “self-fulfilling prophecy” as stated by his father, it is said that he’d have sex with his mother and his sister. As a result, Kafka had sex with his mother and in his dream, he had sex with his sister. It’s important to note that Kafka’s story is very “meta”, meaning it’s difficult to distinguish whether it actually happened or only happened in Kafka’s mind.
At the end of the story, Nakata died after closing the door of a cave — believe me, it’s very abstract — and Kafka returned home.
Now, in my personal opinion, honestly, I wasn’t impressed with the ending presented. There are some characters that I thought were just filling the story but didn’t have any impact on the overall storyline and the resolution presented; they seemed like non-playable characters in a console game.
Then, Nakata’s death, which I feel didn’t contribute anything to the resolution of the story. With the help of his companion, Hoshino, he managed to obtain a stone (which acted as a portal) and then closed it at the right time. Yes, I know Nakata succeeded in carrying out his mission, but is it really that shallow? I can’t wrap my head around it.
But one thing I liked was how Nakata’s mental disabilities became his attraction. I think the reason he was able to fulfil his mission is that throughout his journey, he emitted an allure that made people willing to help him. It wasn’t out of pity or sympathy, but what was interesting was the thought that being with him would bring about unusual and interesting experiences. I believe this is the reason why Hoshino chose to continue helping him, even though the stories Nakata told him sounded incredibly strange and indeed extraordinary.
In conclusion, I think I would give an overall score of 70 because I didn’t particularly like the ending, but this novel still has a charm that attracts us to finish reading it.
