Shima's Reviews > Kafka on the Shore
Kafka on the Shore
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Here is a full list of every female character who appears in this book:
-An elderly retired teacher who writes to a psychiatrist to say how much she admires his work, and speaks about having an erotic dream years ago, masturbating and getting her period unexpectedly, which is “the most embarrassing thing that could happen to a woman."
-A young hairdresser who lets a stranger, who happens to be a muscular young man covered in blood, sleep in her house. Tells him they can’t sleep together because she has a boyfriend and then proceeds to give him a hand job to help him relax. Then says she wishes she was his sister.
-A receptionist who the main character thinks about when masturbating.
-A woman who hires someone to find her children’s lost cat, and when the cat is returned to their house, goes to get the money for his husband to give to the person.
-An older librarian who never recovered from losing her boyfriend when she was 15, but is nonetheless still “slim and pretty�.
-Two “shrill and unimaginative� women who are investigating women’s ease of access to public buildings. In response to their question of why female authors are listed after males in the library, they are asked whether they also found it wrong when their names were called after others in schools based on the order of the alphabet.
-A young girl working in the tourist centre who is “pretty enough� although her eyes are a little too far apart from each other.
-A girl sitting close by who the male character decides he doesn’t have the time to make a pass at.
-An unnamed sex worker, referred to as a “supple young sex machine� who does to the male characters things he’s never experienced in his life, she is a philosophy student and he asks her to quote philosophy stuff so he doesn’t come so quickly
-A 50-year woman who sleepwalks into the 15-year old character’s room, undresses and gets in bed with him. He doesn’t wake her up because he doesn’t have the strength to resist. Instead, they have sex while she is asleep, and thinks he is her dead boyfriend.
-A 50-year old woman who sleeps with a 15-year old because he asks her to.
-(Dream sequence) The main character takes off a sleeping girl's panties and puts his fingers inside of her. Then rapes her as she sleeps, because "he has no choice". She wakes up and cries, but there is no way he is going to leave her body. She closes her eyes and gives herself over to him, without protesting. He feels her pleasure.
-“A living breathing girl you can touch, her small breast just underneath her blouse, in the kitchen, cooking for me.� “I’ll do the cooking here for a while, the washing and cleaning as well, just put your laundry in the basket and I’ll take care of it� “If you need me, I’ll be here�
Note: There is also a female cat, who moves like a belly dancer.
(If you like, come hang out with me on booktube: )
-An elderly retired teacher who writes to a psychiatrist to say how much she admires his work, and speaks about having an erotic dream years ago, masturbating and getting her period unexpectedly, which is “the most embarrassing thing that could happen to a woman."
-A young hairdresser who lets a stranger, who happens to be a muscular young man covered in blood, sleep in her house. Tells him they can’t sleep together because she has a boyfriend and then proceeds to give him a hand job to help him relax. Then says she wishes she was his sister.
-A receptionist who the main character thinks about when masturbating.
-A woman who hires someone to find her children’s lost cat, and when the cat is returned to their house, goes to get the money for his husband to give to the person.
-An older librarian who never recovered from losing her boyfriend when she was 15, but is nonetheless still “slim and pretty�.
-Two “shrill and unimaginative� women who are investigating women’s ease of access to public buildings. In response to their question of why female authors are listed after males in the library, they are asked whether they also found it wrong when their names were called after others in schools based on the order of the alphabet.
-A young girl working in the tourist centre who is “pretty enough� although her eyes are a little too far apart from each other.
-A girl sitting close by who the male character decides he doesn’t have the time to make a pass at.
-An unnamed sex worker, referred to as a “supple young sex machine� who does to the male characters things he’s never experienced in his life, she is a philosophy student and he asks her to quote philosophy stuff so he doesn’t come so quickly
-A 50-year woman who sleepwalks into the 15-year old character’s room, undresses and gets in bed with him. He doesn’t wake her up because he doesn’t have the strength to resist. Instead, they have sex while she is asleep, and thinks he is her dead boyfriend.
-A 50-year old woman who sleeps with a 15-year old because he asks her to.
-(Dream sequence) The main character takes off a sleeping girl's panties and puts his fingers inside of her. Then rapes her as she sleeps, because "he has no choice". She wakes up and cries, but there is no way he is going to leave her body. She closes her eyes and gives herself over to him, without protesting. He feels her pleasure.
-“A living breathing girl you can touch, her small breast just underneath her blouse, in the kitchen, cooking for me.� “I’ll do the cooking here for a while, the washing and cleaning as well, just put your laundry in the basket and I’ll take care of it� “If you need me, I’ll be here�
Note: There is also a female cat, who moves like a belly dancer.
(If you like, come hang out with me on booktube: )
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Quotes Shima Liked

“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”
― Kafka on the Shore
― Kafka on the Shore
Reading Progress
August 28, 2021
–
Started Reading
August 28, 2021
– Shelved
September 30, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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May 19, 2022 07:43AM

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Haha, I'm glad to help. Honestly, there are bits of it I still liked, but the overall misogyny was just too much for me. You could always still read it and make up your mind about it. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.

HAHA YES! I'm honestly surprised that this isn't pointed out more often. I think the quality of the writing and the strangeness of the plot distracts people from it, but once you notice the pattern, it's impossible to ignore!

خوبیه هنر اینه که میشه درموردش نظرای متفاوت داشت


Ahhh, sadly that seems entirely too plausible.


I think the bits I didn’t like and was perhaps slightly disgusted by (e.g. rape bit) outweighed the bits I liked. It was disappointing.
My thoughts on this book are very much in line with yours.
