Some – read many – readers will be put off. Murakami novels also blend plot devices from speculative fiction and detective novels into more normal tropes from literary fiction. Major structuring concepts for Murakami books lie in classical music, allusions to Japanese and Western works of literature, the use of magic realist tropes like talking cats and traveling between realms of reality. Kafka on the Shore first appeared in Japan in 2002 and continues the author’s obsession with cats, metaphysics, lucid sex dreams and bringing brands to life as characters.
Philip Gabriel translated the novel, and its author, by then, was celebrated around the world. Knopf hardcover – with a weird as hell dust jacket cover (above) – and republished under the Vintage International imprint in 2006 as a paperback – both imprints/brands of Random House. Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore was published in English first in 2005 in an Alfred A. “ … either I kill the cats or you kill me.” Rules are everywhere you look here.” He winked at Nakata. I’m not some cold, cruel sadist, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Imagine how much it’d hurt if somebody cut open your chest and pulled out your heart! Same thing holds true for cats – it’s got to hurt. There’ll be lots of blood, and unimaginable pain. What I’m going to do is slice open their chests with a knife, extract their still-beating hearts, and cut their heads off. I do this to keep them from thrashing about. It’s not an anesthetic – they’re not asleep and they can feel pain, but they can’t move their arms or legs.
I’ve given them all injections to paralyze them. Just picked, fresh from the grove so to speak. “I’ve got five cats inside this case, all from that vacant lot. Still whistling his merry tune – “Heigh-Ho” from Disney’s Snow White, the one the Seven Dwarves sang – Johnnie Walker held up the cat like he was showing off a fish he’d just caught. The cat was limp, but its eyes were open. Nakata had never seen this cat before, a gray-striped male that had just reached adulthood. As if performing a magic trick, he extracted a cat out of the case. He placed it on the chair where he’d been sitting and opened it, whistling a cheery tune. Sample: Johnnie Walker stood up and picked up a large leather case from the shadows below the desk. TL DR: Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore captures my imagination, some of its characters are among my most beloved in fiction – not for everyone, but a novel I have reread many times. Finished library copy HC first edition (Alfred A. My edition: Vintage International paperback, 2006. First publication in Japan 2002, in English 2005.
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