Fabian's Reviews > Kafka on the Shore

The simplistic writing in "Kafka on the Shore" contrasts pretty sharply with the book's complicated themes. Perplexing & ultimately mind-bending, Murakami helps his reader out by using prose that's as unpretentious as possible. He gives us clues as to how to get out of the labyrinth he's constructed in one piece by utilizing images & motifs, allegory and metaphor, constructing an entire world that seems to fit like a transparency over our own. There are different levels of the mind, and after reading Murakami it becomes clear that there are different levels in literature as well: some novels are brave enough to explore the deep deep realms, & with style to spare.

But "Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" is better. While "Kafka" continues with those previous ideas established by that other novel (mainly psychic awareness, secret hidden dimensions, metaphysics) it does manage to leave many loose ends, & the picture is not wholly complete; it is, alas, not a fully-rounded account of prophecies fulfilled as internal desires become manifested. Fish and eels dropping from the sky, talking with felines, interacting with spirits: all these are exciting elements to bring forth in a contemporary story. Murakami takes us to a place which seems new, possibly surprising even him. Perhaps he discovered what his novel was all about all too late to establish for his readership an elegant conclusion. Also: what REAL fifteen year-old listens to jazz? I was not entirely convinced that the main character was all that naive, nor all that special. Bottom line: Very interesting all the way through, but not truly, ultimately, magnificent.