Thursday, May 26, 2022

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2005)

The plot is a bit complex for my taste. There is a runaway teenager who sets out in search of his mother and sister. His father used to curse that his son would end up in an incestuous relationship with both and would be the reason for his death. The son ends up meeting an old lady and her assistant in a distant land. With many assumptions and claims, he established them as his lost mother and sister. In the meantime, an old mentally challenged person kills his father and follows the same trail as the young boy. The old man kills the man under the influence of Johny Walker. Not sure if the author means to use the Johny Walker whisky metaphorically. There is also a reference to Col. Sanders of KFC fame working as a pimp. One would wonder if this metaphor for the consumption of junk food affects libido. In the end, the old characters die, the young realize their follies, and some experience near-death experiences and decide to reset their lives. 

The book will keep you on it. You may end up thinking about how these parallel threads will merge. There is no clear ending as such. You are left to make your interpretations. Recommended if you have time in reading for pleasure and no knowledge-oriented gains. 

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The Chamber - John Grisham (1994)

A good family story but not the best of John Grisham.  I like John Grisham because of the depth in which he covers legal matters in his nove...