Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable c characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark proph... » 

Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable c characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophecy. The ageing Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his simple life suddenly turned upside down. Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle.At once a classic tale of quest, Kafka on the Shore, is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos, of patricide, of mother-love, of sister-love. Above all it is a bewitching and wildly inventive novel from a master stylist. «