I've been reading "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami. I ploughed through the first 3/4 of the book but now I'm on page 478 out of 615 it's very much gone downhill for me.

spoiler

Nakata is my favorite character in the book and I loved the journey with Hoshino. But since Colonel Sanders turned up, it seems to fall into a repititve pattern where Colonel Sanders tells Hoshino what to do and we watch him do it - no uncertainty, no suspense, just following orders. I'm also bored with how Nakata suddenly seems to know exactly what to do with complete conviction, which seems very much contrary to his childlike mind in the first part of the book.

As for Kafka's arc, I find the philosophical discussions with the other characters anything but engaging. The sex scenes between a teenager and a 50 year old are just disgusting.

Is the ending worth it? I'm reading the French translation, sorry if the characters have different names.

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[–] Libb@piefed.social 13 points 1 week ago

No matter what anyone could say for (or against) that book, you as a reader should never feel forced to finish reading a book you started if you don't enjoy it. Your time is too precious.

Books are not perishable goods, you can come back to any book you want in a few weeks, months, or many years. It will still be readable and happy to welcome you. Some of the books I consider my favorites nowadays, aged 50+, are books I could not get into as a teen or as a young adult and that is despite me trying over and over again to read them but then, one day, something happens and that book is suddenly the best thing you have ever read—yep, I'm looking at you, Proust.