Kafka on the Shore

Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy.

The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.

As their parallel odysseys unravel, cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a ghost-like pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since World War II. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle - one of many which combine to create an elegant and dreamlike masterpiece.

'Hypnotic, spellbinding' The Times
'Cool, fluent and addictive' Daily Telegraph
'Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure' Evening Standard

Review: Wonderful... Magical and outlandish * Daily Mail *
A magnificently bewildering achievement... Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot... Exuberant storytelling * Independent on Sunday *
Cool, fluent and addictive * Daily Telegraph *
Hypnotic, spellbinding * The Times *
Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure * Evening Standard *
Murakami's most addictive fix to date * Independent *
Engrossing and wildly inventive * Times Literary Supplement *
Laden with philosophical overtones and enchanting wit * Observer *
Murakami's exquisitely simple prose and deft evocation of the surreal are captivating and sublime * Sunday Times *
The mysteries are never tainted by explanation, merely beautifully described, delivering a hypnotic read * Times Higher Education Supplement *