When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

This blog post is my thoughts on the fiction book Kafka on the Shore.

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SPOILER ALERT
Don't read this blog if you haven't read the actual book.

My Explanation

Not to lie, this book is a complex book that will rise lots of questions inside your head.

First of all, an Entrance Stone is just a gateway between reality and limbo. Limbo is a place where people after death go. Character’s like Johnny Walker, Boy named Crow, Kafka, the 2 soldiers and also miss Saeki visit this place.

So miss Saeki opens the limbo with entrance stone to visit his dead lover there, but this also had the consequence of making souls of children that were collecting mushrooms to enter the limbo. Unfortunately, Nakata’s soul didn’t come back from limbo and he became a body without sole and was kept hospitalized. After Kafka’s Birth, Half of it’s soul was incarnated to Nakata and because of that, Nakata woke up to reality. Miss Saeki also left half her soul behind in limbo to stay with his lover and due to that became half empty and has half shadow.

Book also mentions a character named crow. I think that he is the soul of miss Saeki’s lover reincarnated into her child (Kafka). That’s why kafka has tendencies toward Miss Saeki (his Mom). Kafka also goes to limbo and leaves his crow side their. After Nakata’s death, Kafka’s half soul inside Nakata again comes to kafka’s body and kafka now has his full soul with himself.

The book also mentions Oedipus Myth. In the myth, Oedipus unknowingly fulfills a prophecy that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother. In the book also, Nakata which possesses half of Kafka’s soul, kills kafka’s father (Johnny Walker) and Crow (other side of Kafka) sleeps with Miss Saeki (his Mother).

What I liked

The book also invites us to the idea of Logotherapy introduced by Victor Frankl in man’s search for meaning. Let me explain with an example. Both Miss Saeki and Nakata had experienced an overwhelming trauma. Miss Saeki losing his lifelong lover and Nakata losing his lifelong intelligence. They can’t change or prevent these traumas but they are able to choose their reactions to these traumas. Nakata’s reaction is enjoying his normal life but Miss Saeki’s reaction is to Not Accepting this fact and using the entrance stone despite its consequences. But is nakata really able to have any other reactions against his trauma considering his condition?

Despite the book bringing on surreal concepts, One thing that it made accurate of the world is that it made riddles without answering them. Some of those are:

How didn’t soldiers in the jungle age?
How could Nakata talk to cats? How could Hoshino become able to talk to cats?
How can he make fish/leaches run from sky?
How was the flute made of cats’ souls?
How did Kafka got his shirt bloody the same day that his father was murdered?

The same happens in reality. Reality is full of complexities and our brain is always in a race to understand everything.

I liked the two different narratives (kafka’s journey and nakata’s journey) that at first didn’t relate to each other but eventually interfered with each other

Lots of musical references. I am not a classical music fan but I like new experiences. Hoshino introduced me to Archduke’s Trio

What I Disliked

The book believes in limbo, which is described as a small town in the woods. As a materialistic creature, I don’t believe in any afterlife. When someone dies, that is the end. Using lots of metaphors (limbo, soul, etc) to justify the harsh reality that someday all of us will vanished, is just burying our heads in sand.

It also believes in soul. Nakata has half a soul. Miss saeki had half a soul. kafka tamura had 2 half souls (crow + his). As Oshima said:

According to Aristophanes in Plato's The Banquet, in the ancient world of legend there were three types of people. In ancient times people weren't simply male or female, but one of three types : male/male, male/female or female/female. In other words, each person was made out of the components of two people. Everyone was happy with this arrangment and never really gave it much thought. But then God took a knife and cut everyone in half, right down the middle. So after that the world was divided just into male and female, the upshot being that people spend their time running around trying to locate their missing half.

Sorry to say this but I don’t believe in souls neither. Soul is just a metaphor for the mind. And unlike the book, mind can’t be half complete and can’t search for another mind to complete it’s journey. Each mind is an individual entity that never achieves completeness.

The book believes in fate. Kafka Tamura has no will. He willingly accepts the prophecy his father made which is killing the father and sleeping with his mother (Miss Saeki). Which I think is partially wrong. What I mean by partially is that there are some things that can’t be changed (Not to be confused with fate) such as our loved one’s death. These events happen because it’s impossible to have control over every aspect of life. But also there are things that can change with persistence and effort. The book as I understood, is trying to prove that whatever you do, you are bound to destiny.

My Score

In my humble opinion, I give this book rating of 5 out of 10. Most of the book was revolving around meta-physical concepts that make the book disconnected from reality. A book that is far from reality isn’t worth reading since it favors escapism.

Sentences From Book I Liked

If you’d like to pursue this issue of separate toilets further, I suggest you go to the Boeing headquarters in Seattle and address the issue of toilets on 747s. A 747’s much bigger than our little library, and much more crowded. As far as I’m aware, all toilets on passenger aircraft are shared by men and women.

Individual errors in judgment can usually be corrected. As long as you have the courage to admit mistakes, things can be turned around. But intolerant, narrow minds with no imagination are like parasites that transform the host, change form and continue to thrive. They’re a lost cause, and I don’t want anyone like that coming in here.