Kafka on the Shore

By: Haruki Murakami

Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and one of the world’s greatest storytellers comes “an insistently metaphysical mind-bender” (The New Yorker) about a teenager on the run and a deceptively simple old man.

Now with a new introduction by the author.

Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey.

“As powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.... Reading Murakami ... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion.”—Chicago Tribune

Critic reviews

“As powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.... Reading Murakami ... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion.” —The Chicago Tribune

“An insistently metaphysical mind-bender.”
—The New Yorker

“If he has not achieved that status already, Haruki Murakami is on course to becoming the most widely read Japanese writer outside Japan, past or present.”
—The New York Times

Great story but

Oliver Le Suer was no match for the characters brought to life by Sean Barrett, he was monotone and it was many times difficult to notice when Kafka or Oshima was talking since he didn’t even try to change the tone. But kudos to Mr. Barrett , what a pleasure to hear his interpretation of Nakata, Cl Sanders, Johny Walker... so bad that Oliver definitely was not match at all!

The narration by Oliver Le Sueur and Sean Barrett

The narration by Oliver Le Sueur and Sean Barrett is what makes this book amazing!

So much fun!!

Any additional comments?

Haruki Murakami weaves this bizarre world that you end up being sad to leave once the book is over. It's so much fun and the narration is perfect. I'm left with so many questions about the meaning of the stories and what the symbolism/metaphors really mean!! Loved the book - definitely worth a listen :)

Engaging and Not Totally Fulfilling

I won’t say I didn’t enjoy this book. Loads of surreal stuff happens that keeps you guessing and seeking a connective tissue across the events. There’s fantastic happenings and settings that give you an appreciation for the authors creativity.

Unfortunately, I was just left with lots of questions at the end. Few things received solid answers or even the beginnings of explanations. This was a book where I went online and researched other people’s interpretation of the events, because I really didn’t know how I felt at the end. It was almost like I accidentally skipped an important chapter or something.

I think this is less a flaw of the story and more and misalignment with my personal taste. The story is, I think be design, not trying to answer questions about itself. It wants you to stew in the surreal and draw your own interpretations and connections between what’s going on and a broader meaning. This can be powerful for sure, and certain moment did resonate with me, but I felt wanting of that connective tissue in the end.

If you like the surreal, check this book out. If you need a story where things get explained and you’re left feeling like you know what the point of the story was and how it all connected, maybe pick something else.

P.S. The performances were fantastic!

Existential dream

Loved every second of this book. The author conflates the dream with the reality to tell an amazing coming of age story of a 15 year old boy.

Well Performed

Murakami’s metaphysical magical realist bildungsroman riddle mystery is delightfully performed. Barrett and Le Sueur affectionately breathe life into every character. Each chapter alternates between two perspectives, and with it, the narrator. This makes for a clear, crisp transition between chapters. This, with many other touches, weaves into an overall poignant, joyful, and profound experience.

great narration, great story

Great narration, I feel I learned something about Japanese culture and geography as well. The story had a magical realism feel too it.

Connections between worlds of living and dead. It’s a choice.

Wild, fun, weird and deeply profound lessons about literature, thought, life and love. Blends metaphors myths and reality, in a fun way.

odd and weird in abundance.

this is definitely one of his most out there stories I've read/listened to. I enjoyed it very much. I don't know how I feel about some of the story line e with the father's curse on Kafka. however the parts with Hoshino were very enjoyable. murakami can definitely make you weirded out and so addicted to the story to make it near impossible to put down.

"The world is a metaphor"

As far as H. Murakami books go this isn't my favorite, but still beautiful. Frankly, this book had an extremely slow beginning however if you muscle through it you will not be disappointed.