It requires patience for normal readers to sit through the works of certain authors. But once you get the hang of it, it could take you through a wonderful crazy ride. Haruki Murakami is one such writer for me. 'The Windup Bird Chronicle' took me on such a crazy beautiful journey. When I started it was like "What is happening"; but down the lane it gave me a memorable experience. I took this book to read expecting such a crazy journey. But did I get what I expected?
'Kafka On the Shore' is based on two different characters - a teenager who goes by the name Tamura Kafka and an old man named Namata. Tamura Kafka runs away from home to escape a prophecy as well as to search for his long-lost mother and sister. Namata on the other hand is a simpleton who suffered an implication during the nuclear blast during world war. He lives on a small pension from the state as well by finding out about lost cats. Both of them encounter different people along their way and finally, they chance upon one another. A mysterious forest, talking cats, odd people, a murder - all are encountered in their journey and both their fates are entwined by destiny as the story progresses towards the end.
Like the previous book, this also was a crazy journey for me. It did awe me to the extent of 'The Windup Bird Chronicle'; but it was still an excellent read. A lot of things are covered in his usual magical realism style. The experience that Tamura had at the forest was so good and I took my sweet time re-reading it multiple times. Talking cats, Solitude, Parallel Universe - the Murakami signature style was present all over the book. Having said this, the incest part did irk me. The stories of Tamura and Nakata started at totally different places and arcs and the way they start to converge to a single point was conveyed in a fluid and almost poetic way. Music and Books were recurring characters with Beethoven coming as a metaphor. Many themes like dreams and reality, self-sufficiency, relationships, letting go, etc were talked of in the book. The reading was a bit slow and I did a good amount of time to finish the book; almost a month.
In short, a great read which thrilled me and took me on a wonderful journey even confusing me at places. A must-read for magical surrealism fans.
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