Week 19: 海辺のカフカ - Kafka on the Shore 🏖

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海辺のカフカ - Kafka on the Shore :beach_umbrella: Home Thread

Week 19

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Start Date: Oct 01
Previous Part: Week 18
Next Part: Week 20

Reading:

Week Start Date Chapters Page Count
Week 19 Oct 01 38, 39, 40 61

Discussion Rules

  • Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
  • When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
  • Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarrassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
  • To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun! :durtle:

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0 voters

Urgh, Murakami seriously >_<

3 Likes

After being out of sync with each other for most of the book, it’s cool to see the two stories starting to match up chronologically. Also, unpleasant as Kafka’s dream sequence at the end of Chapter 39 was, the portrayal of his thought process as he finds himself unable to see Saeki san felt amusingly on point, having once been a 15 year old boy myself. As weird as things can get, there is a deep emotional resonance to Murakami’s writing, as well as a profound ability to juggle convoluted storylines and characters that feel like they’re all headed towards a shared point of convergence.

4 Likes

I just loved reading the dialogue when Nakata and Hoshino went to the library. The interactions felt so wholesome and it was great seeing these separate characters we know coming together.

3 Likes

Yeah me too! It was a really nice chapter I thought.

2 Likes

Hahaha I was wondering what you were referring to with this, and now I know…

“Excuse me, you are raping me right now.” - “Oh yeah, I know.” - “Could you stop that please?” - “Nope.” :flushed: :woman_facepalming:

That’s what I like a lot about his writing, too. I had a much deeper emotional resonance with the 1Q84 characters, but can wholeheartedly agree to your description.

Absolutely! Also how much Hoshino has grown in terms of “exploring the world”, for lack of a better word. Reading a book about Beethoven and discussing the circumstances of his life with Ooshima was a treat, I thought. And Nakata just being himself in every possible aspect.

3 Likes