KafkaontheShore

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KafkaontheShore(Umibeno
Kafuka)isa2002novelbyJapaneseauthor
HarukiMurakami.JohnUpdikedescribeditasa
"realpageturner,aswellasaninsistently
metaphysicalmindbender".[1]Sinceits2005
Englishlanguagerelease(2006PEN/Bookof
theMonthClubTranslationPrizewinning
translationbyPhilipGabriel),thenovelhas
receivedmostlypositivereviewsandcritical
acclaim,includingaspotonTheNewYorkTimes
10BestBooksof2005andtheWorldFantasy
Award.[2][3]

KafkaontheShore

Contents
1Plotsummary
2Majorthemes
3Characters
3.1Humans
3.2Cats
4Understandingthenovel
5References
6Externallinks
6.1Interviews

Plotsummary
Comprisingtwodistinctbutinterrelatedplots,the
narrativerunsbackandforthbetweenbothplots,
takingupeachplotlineinalternatingchapters.

Firstedition(Japanese)
Author

HarukiMurakami

Originaltitle
UmibenoKafuka
Translator

PhilipGabriel

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese

Published

2002(Kodansha)(JP)
January2005(EN)

Mediatype

Print(Hardcover)

Pages

656

ISBN

1843431106

Theoddchapterstellthe15yearoldKafka's
OCLC
56805021
storyasherunsawayfromhisfather'shouseto
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56805021)
escapeanOedipalcurseandtoembarkupona
questtofindhismotherandsister.[4]Aftera
seriesofadventures,hefindsshelterinaquiet,privatelibraryinTakamatsu,runbythedistantandaloof
MissSaekiandtheintelligentandmorewelcomingOshima.Therehespendshisdaysreadingthe
unabridgedRichardFrancisBurtontranslationofOneThousandandOneNightsandthecollectedworks
ofNatsumeSsekiuntilthepolicebegininquiringafterhiminconnectionwithabrutalmurder.
TheevenchapterstellNakata'sstory.Duetohisuncannyabilities,hehasfoundparttimeworkinhis
oldageasafinderoflostcats(notably,Murakami'searlierworkTheWindUpBirdChroniclealso
involvessearchingforalostcat).Thecaseofoneparticularlostcatputshimonapaththatultimately

takeshimfarawayfromhishome,endingupontheroadforthefirsttimeinhislife.Hebefriendsa
truckdrivernamedHoshino,whotakeshimonasapassengerinhistruckandsoonbecomesvery
attachedtotheoldman.

Majorthemes
KafkaontheShoredemonstratesMurakami'stypicalblendofpopularculture,mundanedetail,magical
realism,suspense,humor,aninvolvedplot,andpotentsexuality.[5]Italsofeaturesanincreased
emphasisonJapanesereligioustraditions,particularlyShinto.[6]Themaincharactersaresignificant
departuresfromthetypicalprotagonistofaMurakaminovel,suchasToruWatanabeofNorwegian
WoodandToruOkadaofTheWindUpBirdChronicle,whoaretypicallyintheir20sor30sandhave
ratherhumdrumpersonalities.[4]However,manyofthesamethemesreoccurinKafkaontheShoreas
werefirstdevelopedintheseandotherpreviousnovels.
Thepowerandbeautyofmusicasacommunicativemediumisacentralthemeofthenovelthevery
titlecomesfromapopsongKafkaisgivenonarecordinthelibrary.[7][8]ThemusicofBeethoven,
specificallytheArchdukeTrioisalsousedasaredemptivemetaphor.[9]Amongotherprominentthemes
are:thevirtuesofselfsufficiencyandefficiency,therelationofdreamsandreality,thespecterofthe
heritageofWorldWarII,thethreatoffate,theuncertaingripofprophecy,andthepowerofnature.
G.W.F.Hegelhasaninfluenceonthebookandisreferenceddirectlyatonepoint.[10]Dialectics
(Thesis,antithesis,synthesis)inparticularplayarole.

Characters
Humans
KafkaTamura:Thecharacter'struegivennameisneverrevealedtothereader.Afterhavingrun
awayfromhome,hechoosesthenewname"Kafka",inhonorofwriterFranzKafka.Kafkaisa
"cool,tall,fifteenyearoldboyluggingabackpackandabunchofobsessions"andthesonofthe
famoussculptorKoichiTamura.Hismotherandsisterleftthefamilyalmostbeforehebecame
consciousofthem.Heoccasionallyinteractswithahectoring,exhortativealterego"Theboy
namedCrow"("Kafka"soundslike"kavka",whichmeans"jackdaw",acrowlikebird,inCzech).
CrowtellsKafkathroughoutthenovelthathemustbe"thetoughestfifteenyearoldintheworld."
SatoruNakata:Nakatalostmanyofhismentalfacultieswhen,asoneofsixteenschoolchildren
outonamushroomgatheringfieldtriptowardtheendofWorldWarII,hewasrendered
unconsciousfollowingamysteriousflashoflightinthesky.Unliketheotherchildren,wholost
consciousnessbriefly,Nakataremainedunconsciousformanyweeks,and,uponfinally
awakening,foundthathismemoryandhisabilitytoreadhaddisappeared,aswellashishigher
intellectualfunctions.Intheirplace,Nakatafoundhewasabletocommunicatewithcats.Nakata
andKafkamayalsobedifferentpartsofthesameperson.
Oshima:A21yearold,gaytransgenderman.Heisalibrarianandanownerofamountainretreat
whobecomesclosetoKafkathroughoutthecourseofthenovelalsoahaemophiliac.
Hoshino:Atruckdriverinhismidtwenties.HebefriendsNakata,duetohisresemblancetohis
owngrandfather,andtransportsandassistsNakatatowardshisuncertaingoal.
MissSaeki:Themanagerofaprivatelibrary,whereOshimaworksandwhereKafkalives
throughmuchofthenovel.Shewaspreviouslyasinger,andperformedthesong"Kafkaonthe
Shore",whichunitesmanyofthenovel'sthemesandgivesititstitle.ShemayalsobeKafka's
mother.
Sakura:AyoungwomanKafkameetsonthebuswhohelpshimlateron.Shemaybehissister.

JohnnieWalker:Acatkillerwhoplanstomakeafluteoutofcats'souls.HemayalsobeKafka's
father,therenownedsculptorKoichiTamura.HisnameistakenfromJohnnieWalker,abrandof
Scotchwhisky,andhedressestoappearlikethemanfeaturedinthebrand'slogo.However,dueto
hissimilaritytoacompanysymbol(muchlikeColonelSanders)hemayinfactbea"concept".
ColonelSanders:A"concept"whotakestheformofapimporhustler.Heisnamedafter,and
appearssimilarto,HarlandSanders,thefounderandfaceofKentuckyFriedChicken.

Cats
Goma:AlostcatownedbyMrs.Koizumi.
Otsuka:AnelderlyblackcatwhoNakataeasilycommunicateswith.
Kawamura:Acatwhowasaddledafterbeinghitbyabicycle.Thoughtheycancommunicate,
NakataisunabletounderstandKawamura'srepetitiveandstrangesentences.
Mimi:AnintelligentSiamesecat.
Okawa:Atabbycat.
Toro:Ablackcat.

Understandingthenovel
Afterthenovel'srelease,Murakami'sJapanesepublisherinvitedreaderstosubmitquestionstoits
websiteonthemeaningofthebook.Murakamirespondedpersonallytoaround1,200ofthe8,000
questionsreceived.[11]
Inaninterview(http://www.harukimurakami.com/q_and_a/questionsforharukimurakamiaboutkafka
ontheshore)postedonhisEnglishlanguagewebsite,Murakamisaysthatthesecrettounderstanding
thenovelliesinreadingitseveraltimes:"KafkaontheShorecontainsseveralriddles,buttherearen't
anysolutionsprovided.Instead,severaloftheseriddlescombine,andthroughtheirinteractionthe
possibilityofasolutiontakesshape.Andtheformthissolutiontakeswillbedifferentforeachreader.
Toputitanotherway,theriddlesfunctionaspartofthesolution.It'shardtoexplain,butthat'sthekind
ofnovelIsetouttowrite".[11]
ManyfansofHarukiMurakamihavecometoagreeKafkaontheShoreisbetterunderstoodafter
readingMurakami'searlierworks,especiallyHardBoiledWonderlandandTheEndoftheWorld.Some
longtimefansconsiderKafkaontheShoretobeaspiritualsequeltobothHardBoiledWonderlandand
TheEndoftheWorldaswellasTheWindUpBirdChronicle.

References
1. Updike,John(January24,2005)."SubconsciousTunnels:HarukiMurakami'sdreamlikenewnovel"
(http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124crbo_books1).TheNewYorker.Retrieved
20081217.
2. "The10BestBooksof2005"(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/books/review/tenbest.html?
ex=1291957200&en=bf38699678e7b01b&ei=5090).NewYorkTimes.December11,2005.Retrieved
20081217.
3. Dirda,Michael(May20,2007)."AsurrealnovelofsuspensefromoneofJapan'smostexcitingwriters"
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701903.html).Washington
Post.Retrieved20081217.
4. Miller,Laura(February6,2005)." 'KafkaontheShore':Reality'sCuldeSacs"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/books/review/06COVERMI.html).NewYorkTimes.Retrieved
20081217.
5. Mitchell,David(January8,2005)."Killmeorthecatgetsit"
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jan/08/fiction.harukimurakami).TheGuardian.Retrieved

20081217.
6. Block,Summer(July2005)."FamiliarandAlien"(http://januarymagazine.com/fiction/kafkaonshore.html).
JanuaryMagazine.Retrieved20081217.
7. Burns,John(March31,2005)."KafkaontheShore,byHarukiMurakami"
(http://www.straight.com/article/kafkaontheshorebyharukimurakami).GeorgiaStraight.Retrieved
20081217.
8. LewisKraus,Gideon(February6,2005)."Convergenceofseparateodysseys:Aquestingboyandanold
mansparkMurakami'sambitiousnovel"(http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?
f=/c/a/2005/02/06/RVGDCB1VEB1.DTL&type=books).SanFranciscoChronicle.Retrieved20081217.
9. Jones,Malcolm(January24,2005)."TheCalloftheWild:AGreatNovelWithTalkingCatsandColonel
Sanders"(http://www.newsweek.com/id/48324).Newsweek.Retrieved20081217.
10. Griffin,Michelle(February19,2005)."KafkaontheShore"(http://www.smh.com.au/news/Books/Kafkaon
theShore/2005/02/18/1108609394959.html).SydneyMorningHerald.Retrieved20081217.
11. "AnInterviewwithHarukiMurakami"(http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?
author_number=1103).BookBrowse.Retrieved20081217.

Externallinks
ExorcisingGhosts(http://www.exorcisingghosts.co.uk/kafka.html)Pagewithplentyoflinksto
reviews
OfficialHarukiMurakamiWebsite(http://www.harukimurakami.com)
NewYorkerReviewbyJohnUpdike
(http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/24/050124crbo_books1)
KafkaontheShoreReviews
(http://www.metacritic.com/books/authors/murakamiharuki/kafkaontheshore)atMetacritic.com
'ASurePath...toWhere?'(http://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/asurepathtowhere/),reviewof
KafkaontheShoreintheOxonianReview
ReviewofKafkaontheShore,Shogokawada.com
(http://www.shogokawada.com/kafkaontheshore.html)
ReviewofKafkaontheShore,ARCReview(http://anilcherukupalli.com/blog/2006/10/11/kafka
ontheshore/)
ReviewofKafkaontheShore,Completereview.com(http://www.complete
review.com/reviews/murakamih/kafkaots.htm)
KafkaontheShore(http://www.thenewcanon.com/kafka_on_the_shore.html),reviewedbyTed
Gioia(TheNewCanon(http://www.thenewcanon.com))
Summaryofthebook(http://techrig.blogspot.com/2014/06/kafkaonshore.html)

Interviews
InterviewwithMurakamionKafkaontheShore,BookBrowse
(http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=1103)
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Categories: 2002novels NovelsbyHarukiMurakami Metafictionalworks
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