Book #1 - Kafka on the Shore

I finished my first real book since starting this challenge - "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami. I read "Norwegian Wood" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles" before diving into this one, which ranks up there as one of his most famous. Like his other novels, there is a definite element of the paranormal in Kafka. Also like the others, half the time I had no clue what was actually happening. There were stunned schoolchildren, talking cats, portals into the unknown, Oedipus references, and plenty of other odd moments. I enjoyed it (although Nakata chatting in the third person the entire time gets a bit infuriating) and would recommend it; however, I'd more strongly recommend "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles."