The Next Best Book Club discussion

Welcome to the discussion. Be sure to hide all spoilers using the spoiler code - this is found in the (some html is ok) link located in the upper right corner of your comment box.

I read this last Spring for one challenge or another. This was my first (and to date, only) Murakami and truthfully, it had me pretty baffled. I'm anxious to read everyone's thoughts once the discussion gets going!

I read this one back in October and not only did I find it really strange and confusing, but I also found parts of it to be a little gruesome and stomach-churning. I have to say that I did not love it.

I liked very much 1/3 part of the book. I liked philosophy, I liked main characters. I was interested in story line. I was sure it will be 5 stars book for me.... But when I come up to parts, which Trisha called "gruesome and stomach-churning"(and she it right) my likeness to this book was decreased very much. I think some things was really not necessary to present and describe and without them book would be better, much better! (everyone will understand what I talking about when they reach to 2/3 part of the book)

I think I blocked out some of those scenes-ugh!

K - I'm in ... I was seriously going to ban myself from getting involved in other books till I finish ULYSSES! On Brain Pain!

Whew! I'm loving the study ... but I doubt I'll finish that study till the end of the year, at least.

What a job that is.

Today, I have my disks from the library and about to put my earphones on!

I'll post again after I've listened to the first disk.

Did 3 disks ... good story ...

I'm thinking - the image of these kids falling
to the ground, losing consciousness ... that
would make for a marvelous 'mob flash'
performance

While I did quite enjoy reading this, It didn't really seem to go anywhere to me and I was left with a bit of an "is that it?" sort of feeling.

It's all a bit random and disconnected. I get that it's meant to be all a bit surreal, but I didn't enjoy it as much as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

Gemma wrote: "While I did quite enjoy reading this, It didn't really seem to go anywhere to me and I was left with a bit of an "is that it?" sort of feeling.

I know what you mean. I read this book awhile ago and was very disappointed with it. I kept hoping it was going to make sense in the end, or at least have some sort of lesson or something. But by the time I finished it I was pretty much just angry that I spent all that time reading it! I don't plan to read any of his other books.

Don't let this put you off Murakami. I have just read 1Q84 books 1 and 2 and still have 3 left to read. It is a brilliant book and really deserves a try.

I just recently finished Kafka On the Shore and it was my first Murakami novel, and I wasn't impressed. yet I refused to give up my hopes for Murakami and so I read Norwegian Woods which turned out to be quite good.

Am going through this slowly - involved my self in a study of James Joyce - Ulysess. So I'm only listening to this one for about an hour a day, at the most. Usually I'm through with the whole book in 3 days or so - sometimes 1 to 2!

Dunno if this is a spoiler to anyone ...

........................................

........................................

........................................

........................................

........................................

Can you imagine writing a letter like that to somebody? Where the school teacher, years after the event writes to that man - to get it off her chest - about how she'd had that dream of sex with her husband, then had to masturbate later.

I loved The Wind Up Bird Chronicle - knew I'd like this one.

I have 1Q84 - didn't realize it's more than 1 book - well, it'll be a while before I get into that one.

James Joyce sure can keep ya' busy - just sorting out what's being said. I'm using Frank Delaney's podcasts to tell me what the dialogue's about - can't do that forever, I guess - he gives a 15 minute discourse every 10 lines of the story - still on section 1.

I admit I was quite astonished at the strange choppiness in the beginning. But now I am about 3/4 of the way through and can't put it down. I am trying to keep an open mind but have the feeling the end is going to upset me. Even so, I am really liking his writing style, the blunt grittyness and imagination. 1Q84 has gotten some great reviews and after reading some of what's in this discussion, it may be the next book I pick up. ( I am limiting myself to buying 1 book a week in attempt to curb my obsession!)

Kafka on the Shore was actually adapted as a play by Frank Galati and performed at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago a few years ago. And that was my first experience of it. Here's a link to a review that came out in the local paper at the time: http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.co...
I found the play very intriguing, but was told that it was based on a very long, very challenging novel. I think this description must have intimated me because I didn't pop out to a bookstore to pick up a copy at that time. I did eventually run across it at the library (last year) and decided to give it a try. I thought it was amazing stuff. I have, however, learned from experience not to fully "trust" an author based on only one of her or his works. Now though, about half way through my second Murakami work, 1Q84, I am 100% in the "die-hard fan of the author" camp. In addition to his extraordinary capacity to imagine alternate realities, he conveys respect for his art, for truth, for his characters, and for his readers.

I was lucky when it came to Murakami that my first exposure was Norwegian Wood. South of the Border, West of the Sun is a natural progression.

Then came the surreal material. Even though I had a few under the belt before Kafka on the Shore, it still had me wondering what it was all about at the end. Despite me struggling with the meaning, I love his prose style. I like his awkward characters.

The awkwardness around sex is a theme that seems to run through many of his novels, with Kafka not being dissimilar to Toru in Norwegian Wood.

(view spoiler)[The sexual tension in this book is around his relationship to Saeki (mother?) and Sakura (sister?)? (hide spoiler)]

I found time this month to read the first 6 chapters of Kafka - about 10%. Enough to decide if I'd want to come back and read the entire book later. I really enjoy the writing style and the characters so far - but I did not yet read far enough to get to the gruesome parts you'all mention above. What struck me the most so far was being intrigued by the incident of the kids losing consciousness, and loving Kafka's description of the reading room at the Komura library as the place he'd been looking for forever - and it actually exists!

I finished up tonight. Really enjoyed this story.

It was like a kick in the gut when Nakata died - I wasn't expecting it. But I guess I should have known he would die eventually.

I just loved the old guy.

I'm looking forward (when I find the time) to listening to 1Q84

Carly wrote: "I finished up tonight. Really enjoyed this story.

It was like a kick in the gut when Nakata died - I wasn't expecting it. But I guess I should have known he would die eventually.

I just loved..."

I didn't realise until a friend of mine pointed it out, but there is a lot of death, and suicide, in Murakami's works.

Wow, this book was unlike anything that I have ever read before. It was weird. Strange. But it was all my kind of weird!

This novel is, well very philosophical. You have to read behind each page and each event and portray the to the idea of the shadow and how we have two pieces of ourselves. Oshima was the physical representation of this idea. I believe that the story is a reference to Plato's work in the "The Republic" along with a sort of Oedipus complex that was applied to character of Kafka. I also believe that the novel is also a representation of fate in which there are certain paths that are laid out for us and our choice comes from which path we walk.

People, shadows, memories and lives are all intertwined in this book and give everything a sense of purpose. I adored the characters, particularly Nakata. His truthful and simple character allowed to book to transition nice and step away from the other strange events unfolding in the book. Miss Saki's character left me perplexed and curious as to what really happened in here life to shape her and what was really going on inside of her head. Kafka, I felt I could relate to the most and I think he is meant to be this way. He is the centre of the story and the pulling together of the whole philosophy that the novel represents. Kafka is supposed to represent a piece of us all.

It's been almost a month since I've finished this book and I am still uncertain what else to say about it. I keep thinking about it. I could probably spend a year analyzing this book and still have questions. With that, I am not going to say much more about it other than I'm completely captivated by the novel and there are some strong truths about life that I'm certain I will come back to.

I enjoyed this more than I did 1Q84.

Dani wrote: "Wow, this book was unlike anything that I have ever read before. It was weird. Strange. But it was all my kind of weird!

This novel is, well very philosophical. You have to read behind each page a..."

You nailed it !

I would just add that Murakami subtly fights narrow mindedness through his work, whether it's just of intellectual, religious or any type.
And in all of his works I've read so far I found fantastic guidelines to other books, music, movies, philosophy ...I keep repeating myself he isn't a fast read or you will miss these, and than you'll just be stuck on the bare surface of his works thinking either ok it was cool, weird or just not for me, boring whatever ....

I believe this would go well with this book
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” Carl Jung