Kafka on the Shore, written by Haruki Murakami, delves into the thin border between conscious and unconscious thoughts. Murakami's use of subliminal messages hidden within characters and the atmosphere around them, lead the reader to think about one's true path through life and how actions affect others. In this story, two characters are followed through their misfortune and decisions in life. The first character is a teenage boy who is burdened by the loss of his mother and the lack of attention from his father. After deciding that his life is a never ending cycle of pointless tasks, the boy decides to run away. As he makes choices in the real world his very “real” friend talks him through the day and urges him to think deeper about his environment. The boy believes the things he does have no effect, but as he soon finds out, that is not always the case.
The second character in the book is an elderly man who goes through life talking to cats and making fish fall from the sky. Due to misfortune in his early childhood, he experiences the world without the ability to read. Although he might have a funny way of talking and a “dumb” mind he is rather extraordinary in other frames of view. Seemingly these two strange people couldn't possibly have anything in common yet their worlds become more and more interwoven through unexplainable events.
As physical events are lived through, the two characters begin to connect with their inner thoughts. By truly reflecting on their own self worth, they let their bodies be swayed by fortune and fate. The universe seemingly forces them together and brings about a chain of events that no one could have predicted.
While reading this book a self reflection is surely in the near future. Not knowing right from wrong, conscious from unconscious, fate from accident,lines begin to blur, and reality itself fades away. While the text has underlying messages of Mind vs. Body and the existence of prophecy, it also touches on the battle of self-sufficiency. Not knowing what your purpose is and having to discover it for yourself is a large theme that does not let itself be muddied by less important topics. Most people in today’s society suffer from the same struggles as the characters in this book. Murakami does an excellent job of connecting these themes together in a harmonious way that engages readers and provides a sort of metamorphosis in both mind and body.
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