"A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect."

"This storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.”

Right when I finished this book I turned to my friend, who I had given daily updates about what was going on, and told her simply: "I don't get it." As soon as I got home, I recited the entire plot and main parts of the story aloud and made sure my comprehension wasn't lacking. I took extra long rereading each page whenever I found a concept, quote, or metaphor particularly abstract, broadening my views in order to understand.

And yet I still was stumped by the end of the book. I expected the ending to explain the meaning behind Kafka on the Shore, and when it didn't, I was lost.

Murakami has built a world in which you take from it what you need to take from it. You interpret the 'hidden meaning', you decide what the answer to all the riddles is, you find the logic that may not even be within this story. Is there even something to get? Why do we need to get something from it?

(Sidenote: here is the interpretation that I really love and choose to believe is how the book intended to be read).

That being said, what I took away from Kafka's journey revolves mainly around the tribulations of navigating adolescence and discovering who we are despite the many factors we can't control, like our family, our direct environment, and even our own futures. Our inner turmoil between unconscious desires and conscious decisions/actions, the responsibility we have (or should have) over our destiny and dreams. The inevitable things we must face, the problems we can't outrun. Because those problems make up vital parts of us.

The story was just a lot of fun. Very fast-paced, characters who I loved (mainly Nakata and Hoshino, along with Oshima), and an interesting plot. I have Norweigan Wood and another book by Murakami and I'm quite intrigued to read more!

Merged review:

"A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect."

"This storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.”

Right when I finished this book I turned to my friend, who I had given daily updates about what was going on, and told her simply: "I don't get it." As soon as I got home, I recited the entire plot and main parts of the story aloud and made sure my comprehension wasn't lacking. I took extra long rereading each page whenever I found a concept, quote, or metaphor particularly abstract, broadening my views in order to understand.

And yet I still was stumped by the end of the book. I expected the ending to explain the meaning behind Kafka on the Shore, and when it didn't, I was lost.

Murakami has built a world in which you take from it what you need to take from it. You interpret the 'hidden meaning', you decide what the answer to all the riddles is, you find the logic that may not even be within this story. Is there even something to get? Why do we need to get something from it?

(Sidenote: here is the interpretation that I really love and choose to believe is how the book intended to be read).

That being said, what I took away from Kafka's journey revolves mainly around the tribulations of navigating adolescence and discovering who we are despite the many factors we can't control, like our family, our direct environment, and even our own futures. Our inner turmoil between unconscious desires and conscious decisions/actions, the responsibility we have (or should have) over our destiny and dreams. The inevitable things we must face, the problems we can't outrun. Because those problems make up vital parts of us.

The story was just a lot of fun. Very fast-paced, characters who I loved (mainly Nakata and Hoshino, along with Oshima), and an interesting plot. I have Norweigan Wood and another book by Murakami and I'm quite intrigued to read more!

Okay, this was so much better than book 1. Like, I've never been able to feel the author's own development as a writer and story-teller as I did with Laini Taylor between Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight.

Karou is so much more likable here and I'm rooting for her in every way possible; I want the chimaera to trust her again, and follow her into a new world of peace with the angels; I want her to forgive herself for her past; I want her to find peace with what has happened with Brimstone and Loramendi, and with her love for Akiva. And I'm so happy that Akiva and Karou diverged paths for the entire novel because they were able to develop their own motivations and characters without the dependency on each other. So refreshing.

Some issues here and there but overall, great reading experience; the plot was fast-paced, and the characters developed exceptionally. Cannot wait to read book 3!

Interesting stuff but I don't really have many thoughts. A lot of it felt like it might've mattered to me more if I was religious or Christian; still cool philosophical points overall. I especially liked the ending.

"Our generation is realistic, for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or Shema Yisrael on his lips."

I don't know where to begin; just read it. Absolutely life-changing, or more accurately, attitude-changing. Though I was fascinated by the first part of the book's account on the psychological aspects of the concentration camps, the second half's discussion on logotherapy was mind-blowing. A very important read for all. This is definitely a book I'll reread and mark the (many) passages that I feel are important for me.

I'm just so fucking proud of Eleanor Oliphant.

The writing was fantastic; the characters were so, so well developed and flawed and human and I loved all of them. This is such a character-driven story and I wouldn't have it any other way. Raymond and Eleanor's friendship is the purest form of love on Earth, I'm a ball of emotions. Only drawback is a personal thing: I cannot stand things that give me second-hand embarrassment and poor Eleanor here was a pro at that, which led me to putting down the book pretty often in order to recover. Goes to show how great the author was able to convey Eleanor's Eleanorness. I really love her and am so proud of my girl.

"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold..."

I'm crying. I grew so attached to these characters and their raw struggles and hardships really touched my heart. I'm a mess right now, God.