---
product_id: 64571468
title: "KAFKA ON THE SHORE (Vintage International)"
price: "₩23961"
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url: https://www.desertcart.kr/products/64571468-kafka-on-the-shore-vintage-international
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---

# KAFKA ON THE SHORE (Vintage International)

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## Description

KAFKA ON THE SHORE (Vintage International) : Murakami, Haruki: desertcart.in: Books

Review: Magical Realism at its best, one of the best works of Murakami - This was Haruki Murakami’s second book I read (after ‘Norwegian Wood’), due to its wide popularity. Murakami is one of the pioneers in ‘Magical Realism’ genre, and this is evident in this book too. This is one of the best works of Murakami, an extremely engrossing tale of two central characters – a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who has run away from his home in search of his long-missing mother and sister or to escape an Oedipal prophecy. Another central character is named Nakata, who, in his own words, is ‘not so bright’. Both these characters, living their individual lives, their destinies are somehow entwined. The book has brilliant instances of magical realism such as – - Cats having conversations with people - Colonel Sanders (of the KFC fame), appearing out of nowhere, employing a prostitute. - World War II soldiers who have not aged - Fish falling from the sky - A murder where the identity of both the victim and murderer is a mystery - A small stone so heavy, that a person can barely lift it - Concepts of reincarnation and destiny Murakami’s forte lies in using bizarre instances, simple but soul touching dialogues, interesting & quirky characters, to weave a magical tale. This novel is no different and is an absolutely crazy ride. If you’re picking this book, you should expect all this, and more. What I love about Murakami, is that the story almost always takes you beyond the normal bounds of human reality, into some sort of an alternate world where metaphysical magic happens! For people who are new to Murakami’s style of writing, they might find a lot of events really random. And yes, they are random at times. Not denying that bit. But maybe, that’s the whole charm of his writing, where certain things happen which are totally unexpected. ‘Kafka on the Shore’ is a story about a fifteen-year-old teenager, who runs away from home. He decides to leave his home in order to find his lost mother and sister, but mostly, as it’s described in the book, to get away from his father. The father figure has been shown in a negative light, but not much into detail. His fate lands him to a distant town, where he meets a gay friend, who helps him through a big part of his journey. He also meets two exceptional women, who could have been his mother or sister, and ends up copulating with them. This is one phase of the story. Simultaneously, Murakami introduces you to a simpleton sexagenarian, Nakata, who has kind of lost his reasoning abilities in an incident which in some way is related to the extra-terrestrial. Nakata, although not so bright, has a weird gift of talking to cats and making fish fall from the sky. Somehow, Kafka and Nakata’s destinies are interconnected, and the whole book is about their journey. The book is extremely engrossing and entertaining. Now, as it usually happens with Murakami’s work, some of the questions have been left unanswered and some events have an open-ended interpretation. So, if you’re someone who likes straightforward stories, you might be disappointed on these fronts. Favorite Quotes from the book: - “Each person feels pain in his own way, each has his own scars.” - “If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.” - “Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” - “If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets.” - “Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in a while, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.” - “Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.” - “Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.” - “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.” - “Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.” - “Chance encounters are what keep us going.” - “Being with her I feel a pain, like a frozen knife stuck in my chest. An awful pain, but the funny thing is I'm thankful for it. It's like that frozen pain and my very existence are one.” - “It's hard to tell the difference between sea and sky, between voyager and sea. Between reality and the workings of the heart.”
Review: Surreal - Magical Realism at its peak

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,295 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Magical Realism #40 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #321 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (21,161) |
| Dimensions  | 5.1 x 0.92 x 7.9 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 1400079276 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1400079278 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 480 pages |
| Publication date  | January 3, 2006 |
| Publisher  | Vintage |
| Reading age  | 13 - 17 years |

## Images

![KAFKA ON THE SHORE (Vintage International) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/716HOaTWm6L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Magical Realism at its best, one of the best works of Murakami
*by A***H on 7 April 2019*

This was Haruki Murakami’s second book I read (after ‘Norwegian Wood’), due to its wide popularity. Murakami is one of the pioneers in ‘Magical Realism’ genre, and this is evident in this book too. This is one of the best works of Murakami, an extremely engrossing tale of two central characters – a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who has run away from his home in search of his long-missing mother and sister or to escape an Oedipal prophecy. Another central character is named Nakata, who, in his own words, is ‘not so bright’. Both these characters, living their individual lives, their destinies are somehow entwined. The book has brilliant instances of magical realism such as – - Cats having conversations with people - Colonel Sanders (of the KFC fame), appearing out of nowhere, employing a prostitute. - World War II soldiers who have not aged - Fish falling from the sky - A murder where the identity of both the victim and murderer is a mystery - A small stone so heavy, that a person can barely lift it - Concepts of reincarnation and destiny Murakami’s forte lies in using bizarre instances, simple but soul touching dialogues, interesting & quirky characters, to weave a magical tale. This novel is no different and is an absolutely crazy ride. If you’re picking this book, you should expect all this, and more. What I love about Murakami, is that the story almost always takes you beyond the normal bounds of human reality, into some sort of an alternate world where metaphysical magic happens! For people who are new to Murakami’s style of writing, they might find a lot of events really random. And yes, they are random at times. Not denying that bit. But maybe, that’s the whole charm of his writing, where certain things happen which are totally unexpected. ‘Kafka on the Shore’ is a story about a fifteen-year-old teenager, who runs away from home. He decides to leave his home in order to find his lost mother and sister, but mostly, as it’s described in the book, to get away from his father. The father figure has been shown in a negative light, but not much into detail. His fate lands him to a distant town, where he meets a gay friend, who helps him through a big part of his journey. He also meets two exceptional women, who could have been his mother or sister, and ends up copulating with them. This is one phase of the story. Simultaneously, Murakami introduces you to a simpleton sexagenarian, Nakata, who has kind of lost his reasoning abilities in an incident which in some way is related to the extra-terrestrial. Nakata, although not so bright, has a weird gift of talking to cats and making fish fall from the sky. Somehow, Kafka and Nakata’s destinies are interconnected, and the whole book is about their journey. The book is extremely engrossing and entertaining. Now, as it usually happens with Murakami’s work, some of the questions have been left unanswered and some events have an open-ended interpretation. So, if you’re someone who likes straightforward stories, you might be disappointed on these fronts. Favorite Quotes from the book: - “Each person feels pain in his own way, each has his own scars.” - “If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.” - “Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” - “If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets.” - “Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in a while, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.” - “Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.” - “Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.” - “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.” - “Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.” - “Chance encounters are what keep us going.” - “Being with her I feel a pain, like a frozen knife stuck in my chest. An awful pain, but the funny thing is I'm thankful for it. It's like that frozen pain and my very existence are one.” - “It's hard to tell the difference between sea and sky, between voyager and sea. Between reality and the workings of the heart.”

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Surreal
*by S***I on 7 January 2026*

Magical Realism at its peak

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Magic of Murakami.... not to be missed.
*by R***A on 19 July 2017*

Haruki Murakami (thats a tuff name) became the second author whose name I hadn't heard a month ago but now after reading one of his books - I totally am a huge fan of his writing(s). The other one of-course is the fantastic "Gabriel Garcia Marquez" my all time favorite - again both of them came highly recommended by friends, had seen a lot of their works on various book stores. As I read a few of Marquez's novels last year and fell in love with his surreal writings, I actually slowed down after reading a couple of them realizing that he hasn't written much (in numbers), so I need to stretch it as long as I can to enjoy it more. But after reading (my) very first Murakami book - I guess time has come that I finish Marquez's books quickly and move on to Murakami :D. He is simply superb and I am sure if you read both of them - you will definitely agree that both their works transport you to an entirely different world altogether and its unbelievably unreal, fascinating yet so convincing. Totally loved this book and will never forget the fantastic characters - so many of them. Of-course Japanese as well as Koreans have some kind of specialization on Blood, Gore and Sex too - so not so shocking for me, neither predictable but nor gut wrenching like the way Marquez does. If someone has read and loved him - this one is a piece of cake. There is another point that I so much want to talk about but unfortunately that works like a spoiler for those who haven't read it, if you have read I guess you know what I wanted to say :). Kafka on the shore came very highly recommended by various book readers groups and I was shocked that I hadn't heard the name of the writer ever so I had to pick it up and give it a read. Initially it had a very slow start but as I kept plowing through as per my Kindle after 20% - there was no looking back. Story of a 15 year old kid who calls himself "Kafka Tamura", runs away from his home in search of his mother and elder sister who had abandoned them (him and his dad) long ago. Parallely we have another fantastic story of Mr. Nakata (a totally totally lovable character) who has no memory of his past, cant read or write, is on state subsidy aged around 60 years. I mean it was such an interesting read to have one chapter on Kafka and his adventure of running away, finding a place to live by (even that is a terrific story in itself), finding friends, trying to find his mother and than on the other hand we have second chapter on Mr. Nakata and his adventure, in search of something, he has no clue where to find and what exactly he is looking for? why is he the way he is, how he finds help and the thing and what it leads - is simply unbelievably gorgeous story that you've got to read. Once I completed like 20% - the story became so engrossing that I just couldn't put it down - unfortunately due to my travel I had to do that so many times but I picked it up again as soon as I could, have actually spent some sleepless nights reading the story of Mr. Nakata and the kid Kafka. Flashback of Nakata's past as a kid, the accident and its repercussions, the way he talks, his cat connections were hilarious. For me Mr. Nakata was the real hero of the book with a terrific ending (I will call that, that). Another thing which works big time in favor of the book is its parallel tracks - I kept imagining that sooner or later they have to cross their paths, there has to be a connection between the kid and the gramps. Does it? and what was the connection and how it all ends is what this book should be read for. Now that I know - I was thinking - would I ever pick this book again? I certainly will. Another thing that I love about Russian and Japanese books is their character names. They are totally too good and I find them pretty interesting when it takes some time for me to get used to the names and how they should be pronounced - here too there are a loads of them, like Kafka Tamura, Mr. Nakata, his help Hoshino the lovable truck driver, Oshima, Ms Saeki, Sakura, Johnie Walker (cat killer) and the KFC's Colonel Sanders - terrific. Do let me if you have read the book how you like it. And what would you make out of the ending. The ending leaves so many questions unanswered but the philosophical turn it takes - it actually doesn't matter by that time. Overall a terrific read and I will be totally looking forward to his other works now. And I am sure you must have seen my last post - a friend just gifted me two books - one from Marquez and one from Murakami :). Happy reading.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Kafka on the Shore
- Norwegian Wood
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel

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*Last updated: 2026-02-21*