One of the great things about traveling, beyond the enjoyment of exploring a different place, is the association that it has for me with reading. My recent trip to Seattle afforded me the chance to finish my first Haruki Murakami book, Kafka on the Shore. It came with a great recommendation from my brother Will so I was excited to discover a new author.
Kafka is a beautiful, intriguing, disturbing, and absurdly interesting story of a 15-year-old runaway on an odyssey of sorts. The story is fantastically detailed, Murakami’s style of writing is specific to the point of pleasurable agony. It’s this accentuated level of detail that puts you firmly in the mind of the character.
What stuck me most as I devoured this story was the effect of fate on the characters involved. The story has no filler. There’s a sense of predestination and magic that’s woven continuously in a way that really captures your attention. The characters have delightful introspective approaches to their journeys that is is refreshing and calming.
Ultimately it’s a book that makes you think. It makes you think about the characters, the story, the meanings behind the events in the novel and even the way that you approach your every day life. It’s entertaining, paced well and really, really hard to put down. Murakami’s writing is a joy to read and I can’t wait to discover more of his stories. I highly, highly recommend this book. (Amazon Link)