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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 Fiction Genre Fiction Magical Realism Metaphysical & Visionary Fantasy Mind-bending Heartfelt Cats

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Critic reviews

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

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

"Hypnotic, spellbinding." (The Times)
All stars
Most relevant
I'm in love with this book. It was everything and more. I've felt every emotion to happiness, mesmerised, surprised, sadness,shocked , confused, amazed... so many more.

I can't wait to listen/read more of Haruki Murakami.

Incredible 🌠

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Took a lot of weird turns, even for a Murakami book. The narration was great! I loved the contrasts between the different characters. Though, I found myself more interested in Nakata's storyline than Kafka's

Very interesting and unusual story

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The novel begins interestingly enough but then meanders a lot before failing to answer many of the riddles posed. So ultimately a little disappointing. The overuse of ambiguity may be to blame.

A strange novel

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What a lovely story, well written, intimate and warm. It’s not the story that matters here, but how it makes you feel. The characters story arc is fantastic and you get to witness their transformation. One of the best cast of voice actors I’ve heard in a while.

Fantastic listen

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surreal and incredible. if you like murakami and surrealism, you’re in for a treat. this book ISN’T for people who want to understand a book perfectly lol.

surreal.

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The performance really enhanced my reading experience. The performance of Colonel Sanders was absolutely hilarious! Great listening 🐱

Fantastic performance

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It started a bit slow but once I got into it I became totally wrapped in the story. It has interesting characters and explores even more interesting ideas.

A very interesting tale

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It was fluid well written. Also it was too naturalistic for me. But after I 've finished I felt plotholes. Also the ending disappointed me. And this Oedipus line wasn' t added a bit to the story.

Somewhat it feels like a puzzle with holes

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A great book and an enjoyable experience but for me let down by the choice of reader for the main character, Kafka. It felt as if a computer was reading the text, no expression, no inflection. The other readers are so charismatic that every time a Kafka chapter started and I heard that Siri-like voice I was just waiting for it to end. A shame really.

Let down by the performer for Kafka Tamura

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Descriptive work with music references throughout the book. Although not his one of his early books, it was for me a good introduction to Haruki Murakami.
A story about a boy who tries to find his mother.

Unusual story

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