Kafka on the Shore commences by tracing two separate strands that eventually tie together. The book won the World Fantasy prize in 2006 and the Franz Kafka Memorial Prize, also in 2006. … I want to be a writer who tells stories unlike other writers.” On that count most would say Murakami succeeds with some ease though he is of course following in the footsteps of Sophocles and Franz Kafka. Only at the end will some of us wonder: what the hell just happened? Cast firmly as a postmodernist, Murakami refreshingly states: “To tell the truth, I don’t really have a firm grasp of what’s meant by postmodernism, but I do have the sense that what I’m trying to do is slightly different. For those who dislike magical realism and fear they might struggle with Murakami don’t give up – the fantasy quest, classical framework – in the form of Oedipus Rex – and thriller-style page-turning will keep most readers enthralled for the duration. In the case of Kafka on the Shore Murakami fuses magical realism together with fantasy, then adds a healthy dose of Kafkaesque surrealism, dashes of sex, horror, and well, talking cats, and characters in the form of Johnnie Walker and Colonel Sanders! Welcome to the strange and mysterious world of Haruki Murakami. I’m a bit partial to magical realism and so relished the chance of tackling Japanese author Haruki Murakami.
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