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Kafka on the Shore

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Kafka on the Shore

By: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy.

The aging 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.

'Wonderful... Magical and outlandish' Daily Mail

'Hypnotic, spellbinding' The Times

'Cool, fluent and addictive' Daily Telegraph

© Haruki Marakami 2005 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Metaphysical & Visionary World Literature Magic Mind-bending Heartfelt Cats
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Critic reviews

Wonderful... Magical and outlandish
A magnificently bewildering achievement... Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot... Exuberant storytelling
Cool, fluent and addictive
Hypnotic, spellbinding
Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure
Murakami's most addictive fix to date
Engrossing and wildly inventive
Laden with philosophical overtones and enchanting wit
Murakami's exquisitely simple prose and deft evocation of the surreal are captivating and sublime
The mysteries are never tainted by explanation, merely beautifully described, delivering a hypnotic read
All stars
Most relevant
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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It’s difficult to put into words how this book impacted on me all I can say is that you must listen to it. It is beautiful in so very many ways.

Just wonderful

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Beautifully written and read.
One is pulled into this dream and the characters and story are just too intriguing. An un-put downable tale of why life always has a little bit more excitement to offer and who is watching over us, why are we here and where are we going.....and what can a painting tell us.
Brilliant.

A mesmirizingly real dream

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Strangely enough deep inside if feels like it could be a true story. Something in it feels familiar and real.

View on life.

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