As friends all know, Haruki Murakami's works are almost all in the same tune. He likes to play dirty. "Yin" is the opposite of light, or the place where light has not yet reached. These parts form a special field, and reality and illusion cannot be distinguished, at least in his works. After reading it, people feel very heavy, and there is also a feeling of being pierced, because you and I both have those dark parts. A friend said, if there is no Haruki Murakami, who will talk about those inhuman, ulterior and private things? This is the uniqueness of this writer.
I finished reading Kafka by the Sea for four consecutive days, with a length of 300,000 words. In addition to the length, there are many abstract concepts, philosophies and overlapping points in it, which is not a simple thing to understand. I dare not say that I understand it very well. A good work, with 100 people 100 people.
Kafka means crow in Czech. The hero of the book is a boy named Kafka, 15 years old. These days, I followed this young man to the edge of the world and came back. You know, when you enter the field of a novel, it will be very quiet, just you and the characters in the novel. Every time I read a good novel, I always leave this world for a few days. On the night after reading, I went to the extremely noisy square. I don't feel upset at all when my aunts and grandfathers play harsh square dance music. On the contrary, I think I need this kind of noise, but I still maintain a peace of mind that is not eroded by it. Ha! A wonderful experience.
So what do I appreciate in this novel?
First: a good way to tell stories.
The story is dominated by two seemingly unrelated people-the young Kafka and the old man Nakata. These two parts can completely become a novel independently. If the teenager is A and the old man is B, then the narrative order of the whole book is ABABAB ... staggered, and it is written from three different angles: first person, second person and third person. The perspective is very complicated, but it always revolves around these two central figures. Of course, you need to know it carefully. If you don't have enough concentration, it's easy to get confused. Because of the combination of ABAB, I always want to skip B stuck between A and A when reading, or I want to skip A stuck between B and B, and I want to know the cause and effect of the story more freely. However, there are subtle things in it that you have to read patiently in ABAB order. Finally, it is found that A and B can't exist alone, they are linked together and closely linked. A does things with the help of B, and B lets A borrow them without reservation to realize A's certain desire or desire.
In the novel, A and B are both people, but B is a special person.
These two people are like two randomly scattered points in the universe, but they will come together when they walk, and they will inevitably come together.
Second: the expression of abstract concepts.
Concept 1: empty shell = concept = neutral = none.
This abstract concept is embodied in the old man B- Nakata. This is my favorite role. It can even be said that after reading so many novels (including books by other authors), I am a favorite character. As Hoshino said in the novel:
"Nakata's way of speaking is very different, and the content is even different, but there always seems to be something attractive in that different way."
What's the attraction? I think it is an "empty shell", an empty box without self. It can also be said that he is a conceptual thing, with no form, no entity, no self-awareness, just an existence, so he can be "neutral". Any phenomenon is just a phenomenon in front of him, and he won't judge it. For example, when he sees a beautiful woman, he will not describe it as "beautiful as a fairy", and he will not have sexual desire. For him, she is just a person, and she has no influence on him. Everything can go in and out of this empty box, and the empty shell is intact and undisturbed. Nakata is such an empty box.
Because of this, he is very different, even if he is just a fictional character, he will attract countless people. This is a writer's literary skill. What does he (Haruki Murakami) have to do in his box to create such an empty box? Very interesting!
We are attracted to such people because everyone around us is not an empty box. We are full of all kinds of self-awareness. Once we get close to such an empty box, we will naturally be attracted by it. In other words, he is a bit like "God". God doesn't comment on anything. You are what you do. What you have done is meaningless to God. Just like this sentence in the novel: "What is beyond the boundary between good and evil is called the source of strength."
"There is no distinction between good and evil", (empty shell) is extremely inclusive, neutral, just, inseparable, living in the present, and everything can be inclusive. That is, "nothing" is a bit like "empty is color, and color is empty". Because there is nothing, there is everything.
Just like he asked Hoshino:
"Nothing can be added?"
Yes, I think.
In a simple conversation with only a few words, the author said, "Nakata has a bad brain." That's about it. It must be. Nakata, I am relieved. I don't know nakata. I can't read I like eel rice. Nakata, I think I will sleep for a long time. Nakata: I may know when I go there ... "Ingeniously embedded in all kinds of complicated information, there really is:" Nothing can be added? "The taste.
So, who doesn't like such a pure and infinitely inclusive shell? He makes you feel infinite "have", then your "limited" will be revealed. Anything limited is attracted by this infinite "existence". You think he is different first, then you can look at yourself. He is like a spotless mirror, standing beside him, you will see yourself, all kinds of yourself, and then start looking for your original self, just like Nakata.
In fact, he is the original self of each of us.
Of course, he plays many different concepts in the novel, and we will discuss the "metaphor" part below.
Assuming that there is no evidence to the contrary, the hypothesis may be established.
This problem is the basis of the entanglement between the teenager and Saeki in the novel. It is also because of this foundation that teenagers are pushed to the critical point of what happened. This is a logical statement, and it is also an unanswered statement. Nowhere in the novel will Saeki be told that he is the mother of a teenager, and only every reader can realize it. However, the interaction between the teenager and Saeki made it impossible for the teenager to get the answer whether Saeki loved him or not, which made him desperate. Abandoned from 4 years old to 15 years old, and abandoned again. If you don't rebound, you will die. As a result, he bounced back and finally shed the first tear of his life.
Third: metaphor and symbol.
Friends who have seen The Fantasy Journey of the Shepherd Boy must have felt the powerful shock of symbols and metaphors. In Kafka by the Sea, metaphors and symbols run through the book and are everywhere. The character nakata alone has many metaphors. Let me summarize as follows:
Nakata-empty shell, pure existence, existence without self-awareness, what influenced the purity of everything and transcended good and evil?
Cat-non-human information. In the novel, Nakata can talk to cats and get different information about the world from people. In other words, people are likely to convey less information than an animal or a plant.
Crow, crow teenager-the heart that has a strong conflict with the real entity. As the novel says: "The so-called weird world is our own inner darkness."
Saeki-the core force that hurts teenagers, the mother and the source of abandonment.
Cherry blossoms-a family that teenagers are eager to talk to, a way to soothe their adolescent bodies.
Entry stone-the critical point where things start or end. It can be anything. Only in the novel, the piano music Kafka by the Sea was used, and that poem was used. There was an "entrance stone" in that poem, so the entrance stone was used. If it is not that song, if it is not that poem, the entrance stone can be something else. Just as the author wrote here, that is, songs, poems and stones. This is the so-called divine word that appears when the writer creates.
Deep in the forest-the edge of the world, the dark bottom, the bottom that can no longer walk, and then death. After having sex with his mother and sister in a dream, the teenager is still not sure whether his mother (Saeki) loves him, even though he is her son. So he pushed himself into the source of darkness-his mother didn't love her son (herself). All the reasons for the pain and darkness came out-because they were abandoned-but they were not loved. (Alas ..... the author had a lot of trouble to get here. In fact, the reason is very simple, but it is wonderful to create such a tortuous process. It's a novel )
Soldiers in the forest-some kind of power guides teenagers to analyze the dark bottom, or it can be said that it is their own strength. When you hit the bottom, you have the ability to save yourself and rebound.
Oshima-one of the leading forces encountered by teenagers, those who have experienced the same difficulties as teenagers in society.
White nameless life-all kinds of human selves displayed through empty shells (Nakata). In fact, it makes sense that this element appears at the end. Let the role of nakata as an empty shell be more vivid and give readers some more secret explanations. Of course it's not obvious. I have to feel it with my heart. My feelings may not be correct. Linlin's various egos, white creatures, have no form, can't be waved away, can't be cut down, can't be reorganized, and will be chaotic and endless after reorganization. Finally, the entrance stone gives the "result", that is to say, any self will disappear at a critical point, and this result must be repaid by cause. This symbolic element can't be implanted better!
There are many symbolic elements in the book, so I won't list them one by one. Some things need to be tasted by yourself to be interesting.
So, what does this novel inspire me?
Novel writing skills
I have to say that this is a complicated novel. Can't say super complicated. At least I can sort it out. Its skills are manifested in the integration of reality and non-reality, the connection between subconscious and consciousness, the simplification of complex perspectives and abstract concepts. You have to concentrate, and of course you have to have a little life experience to understand.
The characterization of this novel, especially those of Nakata and Hoshino, is unique and different from his previous novels. Many writers will talk about "God" and abstract unknowable concepts, but his approach makes abstract concepts appear in conversations and scenes like daily conversations, which is really grounded.
Reading experience
Mr. Murakami has a soft spot for "warmth", which is the case with every work. Most of them are calm, ruthless, dark and ironic. However, this part is a little warm-hearted, all of which focus on the interaction between Nakata and Hoshino. Actually, I'm not very interested in Kafka, the protagonist. I am very interested in the character Nakata. I will laugh when I read his part. This is my first time reading Haruki Murakami's works. This empty shell is simply innocent. Whether he is a god or a pure man, this presentation is really necessary. You know, it's not easy to describe abstract concepts so funny. At this point, I admire the creativity of this writer.
In fact, reading his books won't make you cry, because most of your attention is spent thinking and inferring the progress of the story, and because the atmosphere he creates has a sense of depression, you want to cry but you can't. But often in the end, no matter how dark the place is, there will always be a glimmer of light. Just a little, and then it came to an abrupt end, and it was almost over. One point: "I will leave it to you (my reader) to write about the bright world!" " "The charm. This sentence in the novel: "Mom! I said, I forgive you. What freezes in your heart will make a sound. "The only place where the word' mom' is used brings light and tears.
I didn't expect the elements of white nameless life to appear at last. This is similar to the climax of the last movement of a symphony. This is a symbolic ending, which can support the whole work and has enough weight. After reading the whole work, I feel that the boy wandered to the horizon and came back. After a sleep, he returned to normal. (too deep into the play)
There is also a profound metaphor in the book, which is hidden deeper than all of them. In other words, he said to Saeki, "The entrance of the entrance stone has been opened and will be closed soon. If we don't act, there will be no chance. " It indicates that teenagers are at a critical point and are on the verge of death. Step on it a little more and you'll never come back. Saeki died at this moment, where he met Saeki. Saeki's words provided evidence for his hypothesis that "you may be my mother". In other words, only after Saeki's death can he transcend dimensions and repent and be forgiven to those who have been hurt in a way that transcends three dimensions. Saeki borrowed nakata's empty shell, which is called the "entrance stone" in the book, and did many things that hurt others (the book said: let people around her get hurt), including teenagers and her own son, and also used this empty shell to make up for the hurt part. If you need it, you will be rewarded.
And the empty shell of Nakata has been borrowed by everyone, including you and me.
nightingale
Wake up people's birds with words ~