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Kafka on the Shore
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
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Kafka on the Shore
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Norwegian Wood
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling Story
- By Pascal.V on 2018-12-02
Written by: Haruki Murakami
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1Q84
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett
- Length: 46 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 319
The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Soft porn pretentiousness
- By Madeleine on 2019-03-08
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
-
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- A Novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Rupert Degas
- Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 161
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 162
In a Tokyo suburb, a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat—and then for his wife as well—in a netherworld beneath the city’s placid surface. As these searches intersect, he encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists. Gripping, prophetic, and suffused with comedy and menace, this is one of Haruki Murakami’s most acclaimed and beloved novels.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Unfortunate voicing
- By Ed White on 2018-01-14
Written by: Haruki Murakami
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Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws listeners into a mind-bending universe in which Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is a novel that is at once hilariously funny and a deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Great, but..
- By St. Thomas on 2021-01-12
Written by: Haruki Murakami
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South of the Border, West of the Sun
- A Novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Eric Loren
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Born in 1951 in an affluent Tokyo suburb, Hajime - beginning in Japanese - has arrived at middle age wanting for almost nothing. The postwar years have brought him a fine marriage, two daughters, and an enviable career as the proprietor of two jazz clubs. Yet a nagging sense of inauthenticity about his success threatens Hajime's happiness. And a boyhood memory of a wise, lonely girl named Shimamoto clouds his heart.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Such a disappointment
- By Graeme on 2019-12-01
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Men Without Women
- Stories
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator, Ted Goossen - translator
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are lovesick doctors, students, ex-boyfriends, actors, bartenders, and even Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, brought together to tell stories that speak to us all. In Men Without Women, Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic, marked by the same wry humor and pathos that have defined his entire body of work.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!
- By Nuria on 2018-03-20
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Norwegian Wood
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling Story
- By Pascal.V on 2018-12-02
Written by: Haruki Murakami
-
1Q84
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett
- Length: 46 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 319
The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Soft porn pretentiousness
- By Madeleine on 2019-03-08
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
-
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- A Novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Rupert Degas
- Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 161
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 162
In a Tokyo suburb, a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat—and then for his wife as well—in a netherworld beneath the city’s placid surface. As these searches intersect, he encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists. Gripping, prophetic, and suffused with comedy and menace, this is one of Haruki Murakami’s most acclaimed and beloved novels.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Unfortunate voicing
- By Ed White on 2018-01-14
Written by: Haruki Murakami
-
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws listeners into a mind-bending universe in which Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is a novel that is at once hilariously funny and a deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great, but..
- By St. Thomas on 2021-01-12
Written by: Haruki Murakami
-
South of the Border, West of the Sun
- A Novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Eric Loren
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Born in 1951 in an affluent Tokyo suburb, Hajime - beginning in Japanese - has arrived at middle age wanting for almost nothing. The postwar years have brought him a fine marriage, two daughters, and an enviable career as the proprietor of two jazz clubs. Yet a nagging sense of inauthenticity about his success threatens Hajime's happiness. And a boyhood memory of a wise, lonely girl named Shimamoto clouds his heart.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Such a disappointment
- By Graeme on 2019-12-01
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
-
Men Without Women
- Stories
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator, Ted Goossen - translator
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are lovesick doctors, students, ex-boyfriends, actors, bartenders, and even Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, brought together to tell stories that speak to us all. In Men Without Women, Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic, marked by the same wry humor and pathos that have defined his entire body of work.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!
- By Nuria on 2018-03-20
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Killing Commendatore
- A Novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator, Ted Goossen - translator
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 28 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
In Killing Commendatore, a 30-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a previously unseen painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious 13-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Adore Murakami but Kirby was annoying
- By Team Awesomeness on 2019-09-09
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Sputnik Sweetheart
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. At least, that is, until she meets an older woman to whom she finds herself irresistibly drawn. When Sumire disappears from an island off the coast of Greece, K is solicited to join the search party—and finds himself drawn back into her world and beset by ominous visions. Subtle and haunting, Sputnik Sweetheart is a profound meditation on human longing.
Written by: Haruki Murakami
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Wind/Pinball
- Two Novels
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Ted Goossen - translator
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4 out of 5 stars 15
In the spring of 1978, a young Haruki Murakami sat down at his kitchen table and began to write. The result: two remarkable short novels - Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 - that launched the career of one of the most acclaimed authors of our time.
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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After Dark
- Written by: Haruki Murakami
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4 out of 5 stars 14
Here is a short, sleek novel of encounters, set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami's masterworks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. At its center are two sisters: Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny's toward people whose lives are radically different from her own.
Written by: Haruki Murakami
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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage
- A novel
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Bruce Locke
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
The new novel - a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan - from the internationally acclaimed author, his first since IQ84. Here he gives us the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Another narrator is much needed!!!
- By Melanie Leefa on 2018-09-26
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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First Person Singular
- Stories
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Kotaro Watanabe
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story4 out of 5 stars 18
From the internationally acclaimed Haruki Murakami comes a mind-bending new collection of short stories, all touching beautifully on love and solitude, childhood and memory...all with a signature Murakami twist. The eight stories in this new book are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator. From memories of youth, meditations on music, and an ardent love of baseball, to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums, together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world.
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Metamorphosis
- A BBC Radio 4 Reading
- Written by: Franz Kafka
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
- Length: 1 hr and 38 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
Benedict Cumberbatch reads the enduring classic of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa wakes to discover that he has turned into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. He attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repelled by the horrible creature he has become. First published in 1915, Kafka's darkly comic novella explores concepts such as the absurdity of life, alienation and the disconnect between mind and body.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I don't get it...
- By Peter Marinatos on 2021-05-08
Written by: Franz Kafka
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The Elephant Vanishes
- Stories
- Written by: Haruki Murakami, Alfred Birnbaum - translator, Jay Rubin - translator
- Narrated by: Teresa Gallagher, John Chancer, Walter Lewis, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
With the same deadpan mania and genius for dislocation that he brought to his internationally acclaimed novels A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami makes this collection of stories a determined assault on the normal. A man sees his favorite elephant vanish into thin air; a newlywed couple suffers attacks of hunger that drive them to hold up a McDonald's in the middle of the night; and a young woman discovers that she has become irresistible to a little green monster who burrows up through her backyard.
Written by: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Spring Snow
- Written by: Yukio Mishima
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power. Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Masterpiece
- By Footsteps on 2022-02-20
Written by: Yukio Mishima
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The End of History and the Last Man
- Written by: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Ever since its first publication in 1992, The End of History and the Last Man has provoked controversy and debate. Francis Fukuyama's prescient analysis of religious fundamentalism, politics, scientific progress, ethical codes, and war is as essential for a world fighting fundamentalist terrorists as it was for the end of the Cold War. Now updated with a new afterword, The End of History and the Last Man is a modern classic.
Written by: Francis Fukuyama
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One Hundred Years of Solitude
- Written by: Gabriel García Márquez, Gregory Rabassa - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 203
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
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Story4 out of 5 stars 175
One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize-winning career. The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Rich and brilliant, it is a chronicle of life, death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the beautiful, ridiculous, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
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1 out of 5 stars
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waste of time
- By Ewguitars on 2021-10-21
Written by: Gabriel García Márquez, and others
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Kokoro
- Written by: Natsume Soseki
- Narrated by: Matt Shea
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
The subject of Kokoro, which can be translated as 'the heart of things' or as 'feeling,' is the delicate matter of the contrast between the meanings the various parties of a relationship attach to it. In the course of this exploration, Soseki brilliantly describes different levels of friendship, family relationships, and the devices by which men attempt to escape from their fundamental loneliness. The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Well written and translated.
- By keikalan on 2023-11-05
Written by: Natsume Soseki
Publisher's Summary
With Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami gives us a novel every bit as ambitious and expansive as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which has been acclaimed both here and around the world for its uncommon ambition and achievement, and whose still-growing popularity suggests that it will be read and admired for decades to come.
This magnificent novel has a similarly extraordinary scope and the same capacity to amaze, entertain, and bewitch. A tour de force of metaphysical reality, it is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle - yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.
Extravagant in its accomplishment, Kafka on the Shore displays one of the world's truly great storytellers at the height of his powers.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adriano Pereira
- 2020-09-07
One of the best books I have ever read!
This is an amazing book and an amazing narration as well. I can’t recommend this enough.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Philpott MSW, MSc
- 2020-08-30
Quietly Mind-blowing
I am a huge fan of Murakami. I find all his writing intriguing but after reading Kafka on the Shore I am shocked to find it competing with the perfection of 1Q84 for number one in my heart. Unforgettable characters. Throat-grabbing stories. Mind-bending ideas that I will puzzle over in my dreams for some time to come. I will have to ask my neighbour’s cat to help me decide which one I love best.
I would highly recommend anything by Haruki Murakami and Kafka on the Shore is an excellent place to begin.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Isana
- 2023-12-06
boring! but managed to read till the end!
After reading reviews, I was expecting something like 1Q84.. but this book was not. It was quite boring... not to the point to return it.. I still managed to finish. There were many wisdom points too. And it helped me fall asleep. I ended up treating this book as a meditation. It worked well for this purpose. Murakami's book about him running marathones was even more entertaining than this one. I accept that not every book has to entertain... This one was more like a piece of music or a painting... In short, if you are looking for any kind of a plot, there is none! If you like random images of colour and feeling, this might be your type. This is definitely a piece of art, and not everyone can understand or enjoy this kind of art
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Matt Raymond Ciubal
- 2023-09-20
An Eye Opening Story!!!!
the story itself was easy to understand and comprehend and the underlying meaning of it,
this is my first Haruki Murakami book to finished and recommended by my friend, and i would absolutely recommend this to anyone who are starting to read books or listen to it, i mean the world building and character itself was a good piece to get someone to hook into reading.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Meredith
- 2023-02-13
So Weird, SO GOOD!!
This is the second book I've read by this author, and wow - such an incredible, weird, intriguing, compelling, and thoughtful story. This is an absolute must-read, I will be recommending to everyone I know. The narration is superb, the two narrators have very distinct voices that lend perfectly to the tone of their respective characters. I don't want to say too much about it as to keep the story for you to discover on your own, but this is one of my top 5 audio books of all time. Give yourself the gift of discovering this story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- petlover
- 2023-02-07
Well Written and Well Performed
If you are looking for something unique, deep and entertaining, this is the book for you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Connor Q
- 2023-01-27
Truly Remarkable
I have always loved Murakami's work so this could be a bias review but the performance of this book by the narrators is, alone, worth the listen. very powerful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gf
- 2022-10-09
Brilliant narration
This is my favourite Murkami book. I initially read it a few years back and decided to give the audiobook a try. Such good narration, it was a whole new experience!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Timothy, Toronto, ON.
- 2022-10-03
Strange and beautiful book.
For me, the key to reading/listening to Haruki Murakami’s books is to forget analyzing what’s going on and just enjoy it in small chunks. The story starts to reveal itself as you become attached to the central characters. I can’t begin to outline the story but there are talking cats, visitations from a beautiful and mysterious ghost, mackerels falling from the sky like rain and a terrifying murderer. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I loved it. In fact 1Q84 and Kafka on the Shore have changed my reading preferences. I rarely read fiction of any kind, preferring history, mostly. Now, thanks to HM, I head for the fiction section.
I suspect that this review won’t be much help to prospective readers but you might be pleasantly surprised.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Matt S.
- 2022-03-30
Second favorite by the man
I really enjoyed this book, it was great with the two different narrators taking on the perspectives of the boy and the old man. It really reminded me a lot of killing commendatore and the dream world Haruki created in that novel.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dr. Curmudgeon
- 2014-04-11
What's better than Murakami? More Murakami
If I've been propelled through life by a continuously variable transmission, reading Murakami is like moving to a stick shift. And this is certainly an prime example of that.
Murakami makes you shift your perspective. Nothing as trivial as alternate universes (although he did use those in 1Q84), but more of a radical shift in how you perceive and model reality. If there is such a thing.
Many of Murakami's books take you to places that just require you to relinquish all control of your rationality. This one's a bit easier on you, having more of a standard narrative. It's only in the deeper contemplation of the story that you tend to lose your footing.
This book is all about deep emotion, how emotion defies all logic and reason, and how it is at the very core of our existence. In this respect, it's a surprisingly uplifting and empowering book, which is, to me, pretty good for what may look like simple storytelling.
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42 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2016-08-06
I'm finally done. Finally.
Good narrator. Hard to recommend this book for a couple reasons.
On the low ground: The story drags. Conflict resolution is about the quality of vending machine food. Some parts lack any feeling, while others are overbearing with emotions. Complete randomness and poor plot devices.
On the middle ground: There are some taboo moral and social ideals present that are not commonly approached in writing. Some parts are left void of detail for you to draw your own conclusions.
On the high ground: Back stories are executed with skill. There are some great tie-ins to philosophy and art that strengthen the story. There is a scattering of moments that feel genuinely life-like.
Overall, the misgivings of the story cause it to constantly toe the line between introspection and exhaustion. This book may simply not be my type and could be yours, but I believe I've given an honest opinion of it here.
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32 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- John
- 2018-06-07
Done with Murakami for awhile
Kafka is my 3rd Murakami title and probably the one I liked best. So why am I done with Murakami for now? It has to do with how he handles the final act. In Wild Sheep Chase, Wind-up Bird, and now Kafka... he does a great job (albeit slow at times as others have mentioned) of putting together an interesting tapestry of characters and situations. Building up a storyline that compels you to listen for just a bit longer. Sometimes extremely mysterious characters are introduced, that have you wondering throughout the book how their story or influence will play a role in what's to come. But Murakami doesn't care. Perhaps they will come back and play a role. Perhaps they won't. It's not until that final page when we make the realization that the interesting character or storyline that we wanted to fully understand will forever remain a mystery. Sure, there's a basic storyline resolution usually with the lead character reaching a new level of self understanding, but just as many loose ends and questions will remain a mystery.
For me, that's not enough payoff for the investment of time. Time to find another author.
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer Dickinson
- 2014-09-14
Wonderful Story, Perfectly Read
What made the experience of listening to Kafka on the Shore the most enjoyable?
The readers were amazing and so perfectly captured the characters. They turned a great story into a transcendent experience.
Who was your favorite character and why?
So hard to say, but probably Nakata. Although he is supposed to be a simpleton, he has a particular genius for living the life he is given and being happy with what he has.
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorite scene is when Miss Saiki tells Kafka he has to go back to the world to remember her.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Absolutely. This is a very philosophical and emotional story. I cried in all the right places and laughed out loud at its wry wit. Loved it. Will definitely listen again.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bleadof
- 2016-10-04
Love it!
Both of the voice actors bring all the characters brilliantly alive with their performances. The nuances of the language and simple elegance of the dialogue is not wasted, but cherished. I wholeheartedly recommend this reading of the book.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ben Drexl
- 2020-04-22
A seemingly schizophrenic odyssey
I listened intently though the entire book, replaying when I missed things or needed clarification. The performances were fantastic and varied, and I was intrigued all the way through.
However, I found myself constantly wondering just what I was listening to... coming of age tale with taboo erotic undertones? Sci fi or alternate history novel? Alice-in-wonderland style head trip? Creature horror? Time travel, parallel universe, or occult fiction? Tragic tale of love lost? Or were all of these elements an intentional deconstruction of the medium itself? I still don't know.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amy Dinaburg
- 2015-07-07
Great narration, beautifully crafted story
Very weird plot but charming in its way. I enjoyed this. I couldn't give 5 stars because it didn't blow me away. However, there is a philosophy lesson in every chapter and much of it reads like poetry. The ending was just okay but, in this book, it's really all about the journey.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Douglas
- 2016-05-25
Hauntingly Surreal...
and enthralling. A must experience from the Japanese Kakfa.Among his best work. Mature writing from an accomplished author
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 2014-03-15
extraordinary performance for wonderful story
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
From the start, it pulled me in and was a great escape from ordinary life. Perplexing, great story, amazing performance.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Kafka on the Shore?
Colonel Sanders.
What about Sean Barrett and Oliver Le Sueur ’s performance did you like?
There is no way I would have gone as deep into the story without the performance these guys put on.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Badger McBadger
- 2018-06-07
Overall pretty interesting but sex laden
The title says it. It’s a vaguely sci-fi/surrealist/philosophic journey but lots of pretty graphic sex scenes that detract from the overall story and strike me as either self indulgent of the author or pandering to popular sensibilities- sex sells ya know? Good reader. It doesn’t grant any great wisdom and is mostly confused modernism.
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6 people found this helpful