I remember hearing a lot about Kafka on the Shore last year; the hype around the book's release was how I learned about Haruki Murakami. Didn't read it when it came out--the wait list was too long at the library so I skipped it in favor of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I liked, in all its slow-moving weirdness.
For all I heard about Kafka (and yes, that's the word I refer to in the subject line), one thing I don't think anybody ever told me was that the book is a relentless page-turner. Maybe it's a by-comparison thing--Kafka's like the water flowing past the glacier of Chronicle; similar substances set to different states, both striking in their unique beauties. Or maybe--stop me if you've heard this before--there's just enough (thematically) here in Kafka in common with The Exquisite that I couldn't help but read quickly and obsessively, with a smile (albeit a confused one) in my heart. Or maybe I'm wrong entirely. Dunno.
What I do know is that if I wasn't yet convinced that I'm going to eventually read every one of Murakami's books, I am now. There's certainly enough to keep a reader busy for a while, and I suspect it will be a regular pleasure to dip back into his odd brain from time to time in the coming years.
4 comments:
Murakami = dynamite. Check out anything from "The Elephant Vanishes", or find a copy online of "The Kidney Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day" - one of my faves.
p.s. that fruit loop that keeps IM'ing you - that's me.
I suggest Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Good stuff.
-fusis
And Sputnik Sweetheart.
All very cool stuff, and apparently not easy to translate either. I've yet to read Kafka, so thanks for the vote of confidence. Might go to bed and read Blind Willow now...
Thanks for the suggestions! They have been filed appropriately. And by filed, I mean, I hope Technorati hasn't stopped indexing my blog by the time it comes time for me to come back to Murakami..
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