Kafka on the Shore

When I asked AskMe what books to read this
year, Kafka on the Shore was the most widely
recommended book. I figured one way I could guarantee that I would
read it was to pick it for our book club. I rallied the other women
around the idea and we picked it as our June book. So, of course, as
soon as I was done with Glass Castle, I picked it up. For some
reason, I was worried I wasn’t going to like it. I thought it would
be dense and hard to read. I thought it might tire me out. It came at
a time when other not-so-great things happened to me so I sort of
didn’t want to read it, if it was going to be hard.

But I was wrong. I was so wrong. I should have known to trust those
AskMe people, they haven’t strayed me wrong yet. I loved every minute
of Kafka on the Shore. When I read the blurb, it sounded like it was
going to be mystical and weird and not good and it was anything but.
It was weird and it was mystical, but it was a breeze to read and it
was interesting to the very last page. It did get predictable towards
the end but I loved the predictability. I loved the ideas, the
essence of the book. I couldn’t wait for the stories to intertwine. I
normally hate open-ended books but in this case, I didn’t mind it one
bit.

And I think it was a perfect pick for the book club, it will lead to
a very interesting discussion. Now that I’ve discovered him, I’m
going to have to read Murakami’s other works. I hear Hard-Boiled
Wonderland is fantastic, too.