09: KAFKA ON THE SHORE by Haruki Murakami
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- Опубліковано 26 кві 2021
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Haruki Murakami Challenge playlist:
• Haruki Murakami Challenge
2019 New Yorker interview with Murakami:
www.newyorker.com/culture/the...
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"Constraints can foster creativity in a more powerful way." Can't agree more.
This was the last Murakami I read and the reason I'll never go back to him. Interesting I felt in that feminist library scene the librarians argument was a 'hollow man'. It felt like a flimsy Straw man Murakami set up just to make a cheap jab. Also the earlier section of his writing process does explain a lot unfortunately. He does have a quote in 1Q84 that goes something like 'If you don't understand it then you won't'. Kinda goes in line with your criticism that he's given up on trying to add rationality to his prose and is being an old man about when I don't think he has the finesse to accomplish that level of obfuscation.
I loved this book. I always say that I didn't find it but it found me. I just recently finished it and I'm 18 so I definitely agree that age and the place that you are in your life right now determine your understanding and enjojment of reading Murakamis Kafka. And I really enjojed your review. As a new subscriber I am really excited for your new uploads. 😊
I remember reading this book and kind of liking it and kind of not. I appreciated the way you had to piece together what really happened yourself, kind of like Infinite Jest, but at the same time the tactless pornography was somewhat offputting. But still, definitely an intriguing read.
I admire Murakami's ambition to present complex themes in a simple manner. But after finishing this novel I can't help but feel that he was actually not able (or willing) to see these complex themes through to their completion, instead using this philosophy as a facade for ideas that weren't fully realized.
Very surprised to hear you mention that you thought the story of the school children was unresolved. I thought that this was the only thread in the novel that was neatly tied up when, many years later, the school teacher confessed to the investigating officer that she had lied about the cause of the event. It seems that the glint in the sky was a convenient coincidence that allowed the schoolteacher to deflect attention away from her own embarrassment. The violent, shockingly out of character, behaviour of the school teacher was the trigger for the children's mass trance. The children all return to normality relatively quickly, aside from Nakata who slips into the 'other' world and stays there too long, leaving major parts of his personality and half of his shadow behind, when he returns.
Love the hair full cyberpunk mode
I really did not enjoy this book….kitchen sink - but not in a good way! You can’t have bad writing and put a bow on it with “oh, that’s the point”… This is a great, comprehensive review. Thank you!
For me Murakami shines not because the way he plots his storylines but because simply put he is a good writer. Just like, perhaps a good painter could paint anything he pleases, but whatever he paints looks good.
I’ve read all of Murakami’s fiction and during my early 20’s. Incidentally I think that Kafka on the Shore is his masterpiece. Wind up bird.. is close but I think the bit in the well ruins the pace of the novel. Killing Commendatore isn’t that bad, I was more disappointed with 1Q84 which is Murakami on autopilot. I really enjoyed listening to your review which does a fair job on the book’s faults and potential plus points
I love his approach to writing without a plan, you get to discover as you go. I also like your attitude to approaching a commercial novel with an open mind like you would with a literary classic. Entertaining fiction is hard! Great video, man.
What a good sport you are to commit to this author's work based largely on popular appeal, pushing through what appears to be true ambivalence about its worth. My ability to commit to one recommendation every so often has only waned over the years.
Interesting analysis and especially describing your feelings about the morning library, the library generally….it reminds me of how painters need an ongoing tactile relationship w paint and ink and the textures of colour
I find it really interesting/amusing that you're reading Murakami's bibliography in order, because I've read several of his books and keep coming back to him, hoping to discover the magic that other people praise so much. I feel like he often hints at deeper philosophical/spiritual ideas, but tends to obfuscate that with fantastical elements that never really cohere into anything meaningful.
Great video and nice shirt! I completely agree with you on the over explaining, it took away some fun for me made those sentences tedious. Looking forward to your video on 1Q84; I’ve never been so at a loss to understand a book’s acclaim and it’s 1200 pages.
A little late to the game, but I got a UA-cam recommendation for your channel recently, probably because I've been a Better Than Food guy for a few years, and have been binge watching to catch up. Also, I was wading into The Recognitions and Miss Macintosh My Darling -- and enjoying both -- so it was good timing to be checking you out. I'm following you on Goodreads now, where I'm a pretty prolific reviewer. I read one Murakami -- South of the Border, West of the Sun -- and thought it was weak, but may give him another go. You've helped me rethink a lot of my preconceptions about difficult lit, and for that I thank you. Keep up the good work.
I few weeks ago when watching your review of KOS I was certain that I had read all of Murakami's fiction, but soon realized that I did not recognize this book from your description. At any rate, I guess it was my destiny that I had to read Kafka by the Shore, so I did, much like the theme of destiny that seems to cling to so many characters in this book. I did enjoy the read very much and now I am back to reading Vollman's The Dying Grass, your review of that book that first brought me to your channel. I have watched many of your videos since then and you have inspired me to read much more over the next year. Thank you for taking the time to bring so many good reviews to your subscribers. I look forward to watching more of your videos and I also wish you the best with your reading.
I love your videos. I read this book last year and was fairly underwhelmed by the scatterbrained nature of it-it felt unrealized. I am a 20 year old university student and several of my friends recommended it to me. Love your videos btw.
Interesting hearing your take. I quite loved this book when I read it. Granted, I read it almost 6 years ago, so I might react to it differently now, but I remember finding it fascinating the blend of De Palma's psychosexuality and Lynch's ominous dreamscapes, while I quite related to the main character, since, having ocd, I could see his fears of manifesting his inner world into reality something I struggle with (I say this even tho the condition is not mentioned in the book, but it was just too close to home not to miss the reference - I hope it was originally intended). And what else, I loved the Nakata sections, I loved how compact this book was. To me it's really a gem, and one of my favourite books.
You articulated my feeling on Murakami much better than I could have. I've tried several of his novels, with After Dark being my favorite, but in the end I always end up disappointed that so much of the plot is unresolved and the oddly placed transitions into the imaginary world are just hard for me to accept. After Killing Commendatore, which for the most part had a very interesting plot, I decided my Murakami trials were over.