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Surreal. Poignant. Magical. Weird. And a classic Murakami from beginning to end.

This was my third book by Mr. Murakami. 1Q84, I enjoyed but I don’t think I will be recommending it to anyone. Then came Norwegian Woods which I loved and have recommended to many friends. But Kafka on the Shore held a special place in the hearts of my friends who have read Murakami. This seems to be their favourite. So I went into this with high expectations, and Mr. Murakami did not disappoint.

Story starts with the divulgence of a high profile investigation that happened in second WW. Fast forward five decades and we are introduced to Kafka Tamura, a 15 year old, who runs away from his family to find the truth about himself. Few chapters after we met our second main character Nakata, a simpleton who talks to cats. After his retirement, Nakata survives by finding lost cats for people because of his special abilities. Even though they are miles apart from each other, and yet their story so intricately woven that it is hard to comprehend where one starts and the other ends.

For me, this was the weirdest magical realm that I have ever read. Fishes falling from the sky, talking to cats (is there a word for being able to talk to cats?), a man obsessed with the idea of creating a flute with the souls of cats, a man killing another man while the killer got away spotless, it was someone else woke up with a bloodied shirt miles away. I am sure any other time I would have DNFed something this weird but Mr. Murakami put a spell on me and I kept turning pages. The desire to know more about Kafka and Nakata and how their story entwines was too much.

Just like 1Q84 and Norwegian Woods, Murakami tells us a lot about music and books through his characters. Whenever I read him I end up searching authors and musicians. I love how he uses these two in his stories.

So much happened in this book yet I will remember this book for its serenity and dreamlike story. Though he didn’t give us a conclusion here but I think this is the best way to end it. I don’t think a perfect ending is possible for this story. There will always be more “hows�� and “buts��, so it’s better to let reader to create their own conclusion for this one.

A challenging but also an amazing read.