KafkaontheShore

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was praised by the New York Observer as "A stunning work of art" that has no equal comparison. This statement holds true for Kafka on the Shore, the magnificent new novel that is just as ambitious, expansive, and enchanting. The novel is an incredible feat of metaphysical reality, driven by two extraordinary characters. Fifteen-year-old Kafka Tamura runs away from home, driven by either an ominous oedipal prophecy or the desire to find his missing mother and sister. Meanwhile, aging Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction, has his simple life turned upside-down. Their mysterious journey is filled with intriguing accomplices and captivating events. Conversations between cats and people occur, a ghost-like pimp hires a Hegel-quoting prostitute, and a forest seems to harbor unaged soldiers from World War II. Even fish fall from the sky in a rainstorm. Amidst it all, a brutal murder with an enigmatic victim and perpetrator occurs. Yet, the novel answers all the questions in due time. The intertwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata unfold before us, with one escaping fate entirely, and the other given a new beginning. This text refers to an out-of-print or unavailable edition of the book.

作者简介

村上春树（1949-），日本小说家。曾在早稻田大学文学部戏剧科就读。1979年，他的第一部小说《听风之歌》问世后，即被搬上了银幕。随后，他的优秀作品《1973年的弹子球》、《寻羊冒险记》、《挪威的森林》等相继发表。他的创作不受传统拘束，构思新奇，行文潇洒自在，而又不流于庸俗浅薄。尤其是在刻画人的孤独无奈方面更有特色，他没有把这种情绪写成负的东西，而是通过内心的心智性操作使之升华为一种优雅的格调，一种乐在其中的境界，以此来为读者，尤其是生活在城市里的人们提供了一种生活模式或生命的体验。