Haruki Murukami: Kafka on the Shore

I've never read a novel with Col. Sanders for a character so this was a first. Which is not to say Jhonnie Walkers stumbles upon every other novel i read, he was a first too!

Kafka on the Shore is not like most other novels I've read. It seems to define a whole new genre in itself, what with talking cats, inter-dimensional travel, and a rain of knives to name a few. Of course, Col. Sanders walks in a few times and there's Jhonnie Walker getting murdered in the middle of the story.

I definitely would never have picked out Kafka for myself from the bookstore, not even if it were free. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised when I started enjoying reading it. Haruki Murukami writes seamlessly and the details are weird enough for you to want to know what happens next.

I was halfway into saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" -- this one didn't appeal to me too much, it looks creepy -- and to "neither judge a book by what's written on the back cover" -- this one has "weirdness" written all over it, when suddenly the story ended. No explanations, no answers to the whys and hows of the things that happened. "What's the whole point?", I thought. I started to think I wasted all that time reading the stupid novel.

The story is about a boy, aliased Kafka throughout the whole novel. At age 15, Kafka is running away to escape his father's prophesy: that Kafka will murder his father and have sex with his sister and mother. Kafka hardly remembers his mother and sister -- they left when he was still young -- so when he eventually has sex with an older woman and a younger one, he theorizes they're his relations. He also wakes up with blood all over, presumably from killing his dad. In the end, he realizes there is no escaping fate and he goes back home.

That's about all I can say about the story because I don't know quite where to begin with all the other details and I've no idea how they all add up. One thing I really liked was the philosophical quotes interspersed throughout much of the novel. Haruki also seems to have a fondness for classical music which shows through his writing.

Overall, it was a good ride reading Haruki. It was definitely something different, much like tasting a new exotic dish.