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Kafka on the Shore

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Kafka on the Shore

By: Haruki Murakami
Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Kafka Tamura runs away from home at 15, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy.

The ageing Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.

As their parallel odysseys unravel, cats converse with people, fish tumble from the sky, a ghost-like pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night, a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since World War II. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle - one of many which combine to create an elegant and dreamlike masterpiece.

©2005 Haruki Murakami (P)2020 Penguin Audio Genre Fiction Magical Realism Metaphysical & Visionary Fantasy Fiction Magic Cats

Critic Reviews

"Wonderful.... Magical and outlandish." (Daily Mail)

"Cool, fluent and addictive." (Daily Telegraph)

"Hypnotic, spellbinding." (The Times)
All stars
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incredible and complex story, somewhat weird, but thought provoking. exceptional performance brought all characters alive.

Thought provoking

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Almost perfect. great prose, great story, great translation into English. easy to read/listen despite it's complexities and emotional content.

Murakami tour de force

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A great listen- performances were soothing and captivating. The story was complicated and naturally you have to just accept that magical elements of the story you didn’t understand. The male gaze was employed throughout, however, which was uncomfortable considering it is a 21st century novel. The characters were convincing and the exploration of the mind and subconscious was tantalising. Conversations between the characters were great as well. Plot heavy but good writing- although at times slightly bland.

Loved the mystic realism, complex storyline. Male gaze

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Incredible story & outstanding performance. Especially loved the character Nakata... so beautiful & complex. My favourite novel by Murakami to date.

Outstanding!

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One of the most beautiful books i have ever read/ listened to. I feel like i need to sit in a corner and think about the book for hours!

This is what I call a great book

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Loved it! Ellogant and quirky. Loved the story, characters and performance. It's a mix between fantasy, philosophy, and a coming of age story.

Surreal, beautiful, and thought provoking

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I reallly enjoyed the voice work in this book. It helped keep me engaged when the walls of reality breakdown.

Unusual and riveting

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The narrators for this really brought Murakami’s incredible writing to life. As with most of his books, you never know where the story is going to end up, it’s all part of the adventure. Really enjoyed this one.

Narrators exceptional

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This book touched me in a way that few books have. It's many layers drew out so much emotion and feeling.
It got me thinking again. It delves into subjects like art, philosophy, spirituality, history and folklore in order to tell what could be a wonderful simple story but is indeed as complex as life can be.
I loved every minute of it and re-listened to many sections. I'm still unsure of where it's metaphors really begin and end, in a very satisfying way.

Beautiful and brilliant!

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The narrator alternates every chapter, as does the protagonist - I would have found the first narrator’s voice a bit heavy going but it soon eases after a few chapters when the second main character of nakata is introduced. also the change every second chapter to the other narrator with a much lighter voice means you don’t get tired of either - both do a great job of voicing different characters and you always know who is speaking.

Cool bizarre sorry

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