Haruki Murakami Kafka On The Shore

Haruki Murakami is a best selling Japanese writer who is known for his imaginative and surreal novels. His work is well distinguished from many other Japanese writers, often criticized for not holding true to traditional Japanese works, due to his exposure to American and European literature since a young age. This cultural influence is also evident through his interest in music as he owned a Jazz Bar prior to his career in writing, and as a result, music is heavily incorporated into his novels.

That, along with his apparent fondness of cats, also play a major role in most of his pieces. In Haruki Murakami’s metaphysical novel, Kafka on the Shore, the author illustrates the importance of possessing self-sufficiency while also accepting aid from others. Although the characters were unique and the plot was creative and thought-provoking from start to finish, some may find the plot confusing and the conclusion dissatisfying.

Overview: Kafka on the Shore is set around the lives of two Japanese individuals, Kafka, a fifteen-year-old boy who runs away from his home and Nakata, a mentally challenged old man.

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The novel is structured with an interconnected, parallel storyline that alternates between two narratives by each chapter. Although Kafka and Nakata are very different in many aspects, their journeys inevitably converge into one. As the plot unfolds, we come to realize that they’re quite involved in each other’s lives. Kafka’s story can be described as a coming of age story. His mom and sister left him when he was four years old alone with his dad.

Once he is fifteen, he decides to leave his life in Tokyo and travel to Takamatsu. His alter-ego, Crow, is also a major force in his decision making, such as the encouragement to run away. Along the way, he meets Sakura, a young woman at a bus station to Takamatsu, Oshima, a young librarian and Miss Saeki, the manager of the library that Kafka will work and stay at. These characters play a significant role in the novel as they help Kafka throughout his journey.

Nakata’s story begins with a strange incident during World War II that resulted in the loss of some of his mental capabilities and functionings and ever since then he never fully recovered. In his old age now, he lives a simple life off of the government’s subsidies and has the ability to communicate with cats which makes up for the company in which he lacks from people. His simple world ends up taking a turn when abnormal events enter his life and lead him to pursue an unknown goal where he meets Hoshino, a mid-twenties truck driver that aids Nakata in his adventure. The themes explored in this novel are fate, introspection, and the balance between self-sufficiency and the support of friendships. Analysis: The main idea, being self-reliant while also recognizing help from others is natural, is seamlessly woven throughout the novel into the character developments of Kafka and Nakata. Straight away, the reader can conclude that Kafka is quite an independent young boy. He does not care to have friends at school and spends most of his time working out at the gym alone.

Then decides that “on [his] fifteenth birthday [he’ll] run away from home, journey to a far-off town, and live in a corner of a small library.” (Murakami 6) Being able to run away from his dad indicates that Kafka believed he didn’t need to rely on his father to survive. In addition, he never had a relationship with his mom or sister, to begin with. Once he is in Takamatsu, he impressively arranges a deal with a hotel in order for him to stay at. He works out at a gym nearby during the mornings and then spends his afternoons reading at the Komura Memorial Library. This lonely routine shows that he was capable of living on his own without anyone’s help which is difficult for the average fifteen-year-old. This comfortable schedule doesn’t last though. One night Kafka wakes up with blood stains all over his shirt with no recollection of how the blood got there. Realizing he cannot go back to the hotel or he will definitely be questioned, he calls Sakura, a girl he met on the train to Takamatsu, and she shelters him for the night. This event shows that no matter how well Kafka did on his own, he could not have gotten through that night if he did not contact Sakura. The next day, he declines Sakura’s invitation to stay, afraid he would be a burden to her.

This decision further reveals his discomfort with accepting help, and that he would rather prefer to face obstacles on his own in an effort to not cause trouble or inconvenience to others. Another event that forces Kafka to receive help is when he becomes a potential suspect for his father’s death. He decides to lay low and Oshima, believing his innocence, offers to let him stay in his secluded house in the forest for a while to avoid the police. Without Oshima, the police would have taken in Kafka for questioning and bring him back to Tokyo to finish his high school education. For Nakata’s life, he is used to being alone. His family stopped caring too much for him after his tragic incident that resulted in his mental handicap and so he learned to live on his own. For instance, he made his own money finding lost cats for families and lived off of the government’s subsidies instead of having his brothers look after him. He would also utilize his gift of talking to cats regularly which kept him company.

This all changed after a fateful day that resulted in him leaving the city and embarking on a journey to fulfill his goal. Unable to read and incapable of navigating directions, he couldn’t get far. Luckily, while hitchhiking, he meets a truck driver, Hoshima, who takes a break from his job to help guide Nakata to his destination. Hoshima not only provides a mode of transportation for Nakata but pays for their meals and arranges places for them to rest at along the way. Hoshima serves as the logic and reasoning that Nakata doesn’t have the mental capacity to possess. Nakata and Kafka’s plot would not have been able to develop if they didn’t have the supporting characters they did to assist them. Murakami’s entrancing storytelling truly enthralled me throughout the whole novel. There was never a dull moment whether it was leech falling from the sky or Captain Sanders of KFC making an appearance as a pimp. The plot was utterly creative, unlike any book I’ve ever read, which was a breath of fresh air for me since so many novels nowadays consist of such similar storylines.

Kafka on the Shore was able to break out of this redundant and boring theme. Not only did I find the plot unique, but the characters were also crafted with such unconventional personalities and traits. I fell in love with Nakata’s simple-minded character. Although he had a very unfortunate past, his resilience to tasks and childlike attitude towards life made it so enjoyable to see through his journey. There were no complications, intrapersonal conflicts with his character which balanced out with all the complexity involved in Kafka’s storyline. Mrs. Saeki was another fascinating character. Her heartbreaking loss of love at such a young age was such an interesting background story, but the fact that it created a hollow shell of a woman unable to move on appealed to my sympathy. Another strength Murakami demonstrated was his use of ambiguity to provoke the reader’s mind. I was never one hundred percent sure about what was happening in the story, due to the metaphysical characteristics of the novel, and that definitely kept me interested in the plot. Murakami’s ambiguity, although a strength, also served as a huge caveat.

Even though it was fun to read because of all the crazy incidents, these events didn’t give many clues to what the purpose of the book was. I genuinely didn’t understand a good portion of the book until halfway through. I know that for most good novels, the beginning is a chance for the introduction of characters and the setting in order for the reader to be able to fully engage in the book without confusion. Kafka on the Shore though, seemed to just string a bunch of random events together, although it did reveal the setting and characters, the way Murakami was executed in a way that it was hard to follow. The outcomes of the events, especially in the beginning, did not seem to advance the storyline at all, which made it discouraging to read. What made it worse was that I anticipated for the ending of the novel to answer all of my questions, but instead there wasn’t really any solid conclusion. It felt incomplete and anti-climatic.

Even among the ending lines, Kafka argues “but I still don’t know anything about life” (Murakami 467) in a response to Crow’s comment on how tough Kafka was now, which makes the entire novel seem so pointless as there was no major character development or lesson learned. Conclusion: All in all, Kafka on the Shore was a worthy read as its strengths definitely outweighed its weaknesses. Every page truly captivated me with blatant creativity coursing through the text, making Murakami’s work undoubtedly distinct and refreshing. Although I was dissatisfied with the conclusion and the plot, at times, made me feel like I was in a dream sequence instead of reading a novel, these are the only critiques I have. This is one of the best books I’ve encountered in a while and it was due to Murakami’s impressive storytelling skills. There is no doubt in my mind that I will read more of his works in the future.