The novel is a thick one and a complicated one at that. Following a boy of fifteen who runs away from home and an old man who has lost his own self years ago in a freak accident, the story weaves on.

The complicated yet interesting story takes the reader along to this world of talking cats and entrance stones. The Oedipus curse and the patricide of Kafka will leave the reader confused at first but Nagata’s involvement with the plot slowly unravels the mysteries and brings up new questions all the more.

The intricate character sketch and the flowing narrative is additive and thought provoking. Other dimensions, days long sleep and a very disturbing history of Japan with the war raging in the background gives insight to the lives of men but at a superficial level that is deeper than any other.

The existential questions dealt here is ambiguous and the mental spirals take a whole new meaning in the compilation of the two story line. The character of Miss Saeki has a deep buried past that has been hinted with theories and some sort of a confession in the end, but the real truth lies with her, and her alone. The zeal to live brings back Kafka from the other world and done with the worldly duties, Nagata carries on to the other world.

The novel leaves you hungry for more. The intimate style of writing of Murakami is dreamy with the essential bloodshed that lashes through the story. The love and destruction of it and the secrets of every character form the plot and the neat bundling of the threads produce a perfectly woven tapestry depicting another world, a surreal one. The read is a fast one due to the pace of the narrative and the occasional pauses to self-reflect are much needed. I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.