‘Death exists not as the opposite but as a part of life…’
I discovered Murakami this year and ever since I have found a sense of comfort and warmth in his words. I feel part of me feels more alive when I pick up his book. He definitely is my go-to author, whose words don’t tire me and, whose words find me when I’m not able to make sense of who I am. And I adore his books a little more because they have made this pandemic a little more bearable for me.
The Disclaimer
Goethe said everything is a metaphor. And this book is a world of metaphors at home, where each metaphor feels belonged. ‘Kafka On The Shore’ is about you, even if you feel it’s confusing you or leading you elsewhere, well isn’t life like that?
And for me, I like imperfections, complex narratives & flawed people who seek something that goes unnoticed for most of us. And for me, these imperfections are what helps me connect to my own imperfections. A beautiful read, which helps you think more and be more. If only you’re ready to sit with it patiently.
Synopsis
The whole story revolves around two completely different characters, Kafka Tamura and Nakata Satara, and the characters they came across in their journey. Kafka Tamura a fifteen-year-old runaway bearing a forbidden curse given by his late father and painful memories. Kafka's character is unlike any other fifteen-year-old kid who has a strange touch of complexity and it certainly is deep growing over time.
The second character is Nakata Sataru, an old man who doesn't have any clue about his past searching for the coming future. Nakata, a dumb yet smart his character itself is like a paradox, which can only be dumb if he is smart and only be smart if he is dumb. Which is completely different from Kafka who bears a straightforward perspective about things.
Nakata's ability to view things in a strangely simple perspective is what makes the characters strong and firm as an ancient stone wall. Both characters' goal and life are completely different yet at the same time similar at certain points of time. It's like 2 different ends of the same thread. One looking back at his past while running away from it while another being careless of his past heading for completing a quest which is to shut the entrance of an alternate reality.
One is overly smart and obsessed with books along with other things while another doesn't even know the characters in his name. In the book, both characters come across some potential person's which makes the story interesting. The first person was a boy named crow which is nothing more than an illusion made by Kafka in his mind.
The second person he met on the bus while he was running away from his home. Later when he went to a private library in Takamatsu he came across another person Oshima, a transgender character who supported Kafka throughout the book is a nicely forged character. His perspective on LGBT community is quite impressive and he looks at things metaphorically which is completely at another level. It's a character that is somewhat neutral at its own axis.
Then comes Mrs. Saeki. To be honest you'll feel for her head over heels for her. She's the central part of the story. She's the manager of the private library where Oshima works and Kafka lives throughout most of the novel. Her character is that of a broken but charming woman. She was the one who opened the entrance to an alternate reality in order to protect herself from harsh reality but it turns out that it just made her trapped in her own damned reality.
The more you learn about her the more you crave for her past. Mr. Hoshino is another character who helps Nakata in completing his quest. It's not like they have been friends for over a long time but they both meet each other when Nakata decides to go into his quest. Later Mr. Hoshino finds Nakata an interesting person and a slight resemblance to his grandfather. This is why he decides to help out the old man in his quest and he turns out to be an important key in this whole book.
Verdict
What’s beautiful is that the realities of the characters alternate from one chapter to another, like life does from one moment to another. Yet everything falls into place and connects their worlds just like our world's do.
The Bottom line
Throughout this book, you will feel like you can choose for yourself, for nothing in this book is imposing or rigid. It flows like our lives do in a beautiful aching way. I felt this book, I felt myself seeking the beauty in the ordinary, as Murakami has portrayed ordinary people doing things which we take for granted.
A routine, a good book, deep conversations absorbing the silence of the moment For example, no one seeks to fit in this book as everyone is struggling with something deep, something with themselves. As we always do, yet we look beyond our own selves. Escaping yet hardly belonging.
Get a glimpse on the book review of ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne.
Written By - Ifrah Amin
Edited By - Pavas Shrigyan
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