Reading 1001 discussion

Read 2012.
I really like Murakami's writing and I would give this a higher rating but I didn't like the excessive sexual content. I will add more later to this review.

I really like Murakami’s writing and this rating is a little lower than my appreciation for this book. This is a story of a fifteen year old boy who is cursed by his father to kill his father and sleep with his mother and sister. Kafka runs away to escape the prediction but ends up seeking the mother who abandoned him when he was little. It is describe as “psychoanalytic magic realism” by the 1001 Books You Must Read reference book. There is a parallel story of an elderly man who is unable to read called Nakata, the two never meet yet they are bound together. This novel explores time, ghosts, music, forgiveness, dream-realities (a favorite subject of Murakami), violence, love, memory and loss. There is so much in this story that the author says a person needs to read it more than once to fully appreciate the many layers. The reason why I gave it only 3 stars is because this book is full of descriptions of a 15 year olds masturbation and sexual exploits and the old man’s interest in “taking a dump” so the book is not for everyone. I think the story could have gotten the same points across with less detail of Kafka’s penis.

Rating: 3.5 stars


I love Murakami's writing style, but I have to say that this is my least favorite of the four books of his I have read so far. As Kristel said, too many references to the penis in this one. That and the incest references, made me not love this in the way that I loved 1Q84 and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

Like most Murakami books, this one was trippy. I can't honestly say I completely understood what was going on, as there are so many complex layers to this story.

I’ve read quite a few novels by Murakami and he covers the same kind of themes quite often, often with a lonely male protagonist who encounters disturbing and perhaps magical events. This one was very similar, but I didn’t like it as much as 1Q84 or The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. As others have said, the sexual content and constant penis references were rather overpowering, and I also did not appreciate a lengthy scene of gratuitous cruelty and violence towards cats that added little to the book.

Having said that, I found Murakami’s writing compelling as always and the central story of Kafka - a twist on the Oedipus myth - was quite haunting and sad. The layers of meaning, the use of classical music and art, and the dream sequences were evocative, and I enjoyed trying to work out all the connections.

I felt Nakata’s story with its links to the wartime incident could have been developed more, but I did enjoy the way the narrative switched between Nakata and Kafka till the two strands coincided. 3.5* rounded to 4.