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Sbjenni's Reviews > Kafka on the Shore
Kafka on the Shore
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Murakami writes great sentences and paragraphs - no one can dispute that - but with a stream-of-consciousness kind of cohesion that is risky because the result can be the same kind of superficiality as a movie with great special effects but a jarringly dysfunctional story-line. This is my take on "Kafka on the Shore". I was riveted by many bits and pieces of the narrative but, in the end, the story didn’t seem to hold together and I couldn’t free myself of persistent notions that the author was merely indulging a certain hubris.
There’s an expression: “ars celare artem� or “the art that conceals art� that, I think, sets a standard for metaphysical novels. For example, I think we experience “ars celare artem� when we lose ourselves in a fantasy world of an artist's creation and then, putting the work aside, find we suddenly have a whole new perspective on our own world. With this book I could never get sufficiently removed from the looming presence of the author and his seemingly bizarre and twisted fantasies to become truly immersed in his world.
In general, I think that a work of literature, like any work of art, needs to transcend the personal involvement of the artist (author) in order to truly succeed. And this is where I think "Kafka on the Shore" falls short.
There’s an expression: “ars celare artem� or “the art that conceals art� that, I think, sets a standard for metaphysical novels. For example, I think we experience “ars celare artem� when we lose ourselves in a fantasy world of an artist's creation and then, putting the work aside, find we suddenly have a whole new perspective on our own world. With this book I could never get sufficiently removed from the looming presence of the author and his seemingly bizarre and twisted fantasies to become truly immersed in his world.
In general, I think that a work of literature, like any work of art, needs to transcend the personal involvement of the artist (author) in order to truly succeed. And this is where I think "Kafka on the Shore" falls short.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 1, 2010
–
Finished Reading
January 27, 2010
– Shelved
January 27, 2010
– Shelved as:
fiction
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Carol
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Jan 28, 2010 07:36PM
I feel like Mr Nakata as I write this response. I am not a very articulate person, but I feel like I've read something important. I responded to the book on a very visceral level. I feel like the author was able to help the reader feel the sense of loss and lack of connection a person abandoned as a child might feel - an maybe helped us understand the spiritual shift that has to happen for self-acceptance to begin?
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I'm going to take the liberty of posting here what Chelsea (daughter - who recommended "Kafka on the Shore") had to say in response to my critique:Dad - I think I see your point, in a way. I didn't develop particularly strong feelings about the characters, and I see why that could make you enjoy the book less. However, for me the quality of Murakami's writing was enough to make me really love the novel and keep reading. Personally, I love the stream of conscious writing style, and I don't feel that the story always needs to be totally cohesive--sometimes I like it when things don't match up exactly, if it is intentional and it works with the rest of the story. I like it when literature reflects that reality of life--that sometimes characters are introduced and then disappear and you don't really know why, and if the book is written in a surrealist style, then I think that can work on a more metaphorical level.
I'm with Chelsea on this; I think it mirrored life in the labyrinth theme and the search for a self. I also felt like Carol S.-- like Mr. Nakata, who is one of the most wonderful characters ever. I never wanted him to be "normal"! many more thoughts but I have not enjoyed a book as much as this for a very long time. I liked it better than 'Dance Dance Dance' or the Wonderland book. and a good follow-on to The Stranger!
