Elham

You sit at the edge of the world
I am in a crater that's no more.
Words without letters
Standing in the shadow of the door.
The moon shines down on a sleeping lizard, Little fish rain down from the sky.
Outside the window there are soldiers, steeling themselves to die.
Kafka sits in a chair by the shore, Thinking of the pendulum that moves the world, it seems.
When your heart is closed, The shadow of the unmoving Sphinx, Becomes a knife that pierces
your dreams.
The drowning girl's fingers
Search for the entrance stone, and more.
Lifting the hem of her azure dress, She gazes—-
at Kafka on the shore.

Mysterious, Magical, Metaphysical!

first of all, this is NOT a story that says what happened what will happen and what the conclusion is! it starts mysteriously and ends while you still have so many questions!

"Kafka on the shore" is the story of Kafka Tamura, a teenager, who is only 15. he runs away from home and goes to Shikoku. he finds a library and this is the beginning! this is one of the rare stories that one of the main scenes in which the story takes place , is a Library!

Soon, Kafka, will make friend with Oshima, the receptionist at the library and also Miss Saeki, the librarian. they give him a job at the library.

The story is divided into two parts. one part is about Kafka, the other one is about an old man, Nakata.when Nakata was a child, he lost his consciousness and now he is not so bright. but he can speak with cats, make sky rain fish, sardine and leeches! these two parts will be merged into each other at the last third of the story.

There's a painting in Kafka's room at the library that has an important role in the story. it's a 15-year-old boy sitting on the shore. Oshima explains to Kafka that he was Miss Saeki's lover when they were 15 (she's now 50). there is also a song that miss Saeki sang it for her lover. it's name is Kafka on the shore!


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Actually, i still don't know, who really Kafka is. Are Kafka, Nakata and Miss Saeki's Lover 'one person'? Nakata says he is not bright, he can't read or write but he hopes he will be a normal person someday and be able to read a lot of books. he mentions he will be that person when he opens the entrance stone. but that never happens clearly in the story! at the other hand, Kafka reads a lot and loves books. one other clue: when Nakata meets miss Saeki, she said: "I feel like I've known you for ages, Weren't you in that painting? A figure in the sea in the background? White pants legs rolled up, dipping your feet in the water?". one more thing, Nakata and Miss Saeki's shadow on the ground are only half as dark as that of ordinary people and one day a cat said to Nakata that he must search for his other half shadow. i think, a half lost shadow refers to a lover. so he was her lover. it's baffling. but the conception of living spirits that Oshima explains it to Kafka, may help to solve the riddle.

this story is like a puzzle! the writer gives some clues in different parts of the story. it's the reader who should finish the story!