Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tumura runs away from from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his fathers 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 of harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a svaage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a ridle. 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 mastery stylist.