Why should you read “Kafka on the Shore”? - Iseult Gillespie

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions.

„Ponekad je sudbina poput omanje peščane oluje koja stalno menja smer.

You change direction but the sandstorm chases you.

Izmeniš pravac, ali peščana oluja juri za tobom.

You turn again, but the storm adjusts.

Ponovo skreneš, međutim oluja se prilagođava.

Over and over you play this out,

Iznova i iznova igraš ovu igru,

like some ominous dance with death just before dawn.

poput nekakvog zloslutnog plesa sa smrću u praskozorje.

Why?

Zašto? Jer oluja nije nešto što duva iz daljine...

Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away…

This storm is you. Something inside of you.”

Ta oluja si ti. Nešto što je u tebi.”

This quote,

Ovaj citat iz prvog poglavlja romana „Kafka na obali mora” Harukija Murakamija,

from the first chapter of Haruki Murakami’s "Kafka on the Shore,"

captures the teenage protagonist's turmoil.

oslikava tinejdžerski nespokoj glavnog lika.

Desperate to escape his tyrannical father

Očajan da pobegne od tiranskog oca

and the family curse he feels doomed to repeat,

i porodične kletve koju je, kako oseća, osuđen da ponavlja,

he renames himself Kafka after his favorite author

menja svoje ime u Kafka po svom omiljenom piscu i beži od kuće.

and runs away from home.

But memories of a missing mother,

Međutim, od sećanja na nestalu majku,

along with dreams that haunt his waking life,

kao i snova koji ga budnog proganjaju,

prove more difficult to outrun.

ispostavlja se da je teško pobeći.

Published in Japanese in 2002

Objavljen na japanskom jeziku 2002. godine i nešto kasnije preveden na srpski,

and translated into English three years later,

"Kafka on the Shore" is an epic literary puzzle

„Kafka na obali mora” je epska književna zagonetka ispunjena putovanjem kroz vreme,

filled with time travel, hidden histories, and magical underworlds.

skrivenim istorijama i čarobnim podzemljima.

Readers delight in discovering how the mind-bending imagery,

Čitaoci sa oduševljenjem otkrivaju kako se zapanjujuće slike,

whimsical characters and eerie coincidences fit together.

čudesni likovi i jezive slučajnosti uklapaju.

Kafka narrates every second chapter,

Kafka je pripovedač u svakom drugom poglavlju,

with the rest centering on an old man named Satoru Nakata.

dok je ostatak priče koncentrisan na starca po imenu Satoru Nakata.

After awakening from a coma he went into during the Second World War,

Nakon što se budi iz kome u koju je pao tokom Drugog svetskog rata,

Nakata loses the ability to read and write–

Nakata gubi sposobnost čitanja i pisanja -

but gains a mysterious knack for talking to cats.

međutim, dobija tajanstvenu moć komunikacije sa mačkama.

When he’s asked to tail a missing pet,

Kada mu zatraže da pronađe nestalog ljubimca,

he’s thrown onto a dangerous path that runs parallel to Kafka’s.

on se zatiče na opasnoj stazi koja je paralelna sa Kafkinom.

Soon prophecies come true, portals to different dimensions open up–

Uskoro, proročanstva se obistinjavaju, otvaraju se portali ka drugim dimenzijama,

and fish and leeches begin raining from the sky.

a ribe i pijavice počinju da padaju s neba.

But what ties these two characters together–

Međutim, šta povezuje ova dva lika -

and is it a force either one of them can control?

i da li se radi o sili kojom ijedan od njih može da upravlja?

The collision of different worlds is a common thread

Sudar različitih svetova je zajednička nit u delima Harukija Murakamija.

in Haruki Murakami’s work.

His novels and short stories often forge fantastic connections

Njegovi romani i kratke priče često prave fantastične veze

between personal experience,

između ličnog iskustva,

supernatural possibilities, and Japanese history.

natprirodnih sposobnsti i japanske istorije.

Born in Kyoto in 1949,

Rođen u Kjotu 1949. godine,

Murakami grew up during the post-World War II

Murakami je odrastao tokom postratne američke okupacije Japana.

American occupation of Japan.

The shadow of war hung over his life as it does his fiction;

Senka rata se nadvijala nad njegovim životom i književnošću.

"Kafka on the Shore" features biological attacks,

„Kafka na obali mora” sadrži biološke napade,

military ghosts and shady conspiracies.

vojničke duhove i sumnjive zavere.

Murakami’s work blurs historical periods

Murakamijeva dela zamagljuju istorijske periode

and draws from multiple cultural traditions.

i pod uticajem su raznih kulturnih tradicija.

References to Western society and Japanese customs

Reference na zapadno društvo i japanske običaje se pretumbavaju jedne preko drugih

tumble over each other,

from literature and fashion to food and ghost stories.

od književnosti i mode do hrane i priča o sablastima.

He has a penchant for musical references, too,

Murakami je sklon i muzičkim referencama, naročito u „Kafki na obali mora”.

especially in "Kafka on the Shore."

As the runaway Kafka wanders the streets of a strange city,

Dok odbegli Kafka luta ulicama nepoznatog grada,

Led Zeppelin and Prince keep him company.

Led Cepelin i Prins mu prave društvo.

Soon, he takes refuge in an exquisite private library.

Uskoro pronalazi utočište u ekskluzivnoj privatnoj biblioteci.

While he spends his days poring over old books

Dok provodi dane pažljivo čitajući stare knjige

and contemplating a strange painting and the library’s mysterious owner,

i posmatrajući čudnu sliku i tajanstvenog vlasnika biblioteke,

he also befriends the librarian–

takođe se sprijateljuje sa bibliotekarom,

who introduces him to classical music like Schubert.

koji ga upućuje na klasičnu muziku, poput Šuberta.

This musical sensibility makes Murakami’s work

Ovaj muzički senzibilitet dodatno čini Murakamijeva dela hipnotičnim.

all the more hypnotic.

He frequently bends the line between reality and a world of dreams,

On često stapa granice između stvarnosti i sveta snova

and is considered a master of magic lurking in the mundane.

i smatra se majstorom za čaroliju koja vreba iz svakodnevice.

This is a key feature of magical realism.

To predstavlja ključnu karakteristiku magičnog realizma.

In contrast to fantasy,

Nasuprot fantaziji,

magic in this sort of writing rarely offers a way out of a problem.

magija u ovom vidu književnosti retko nudi izlaz iz problema.

Instead, it becomes just one more thing that complicates life.

Umesto toga, postaje tek dodatna stvar koja komplikuje život.

In "Kafka on the Shore,"

U „Kafki na obali mora”,

characters are faced with endless otherworldly distractions,

likovi su suočeni sa bezbroj onostranih ometanja,

from a love sick ghost to a flute made from cat souls.

od duha sa slomljenim srcem do frule sačinjene od mačjih duša.

These challenges offer no easy answers.

Ovi izazovi ne nude lake odgovore.

Instead, they leave us marveling at the resourcefulness

Umesto toga, ostajemo zadivljeni snalažljivošću ljudskog duha

of the human spirit to deal with the unexpected.

da se nosi sa neočekivanim.

While Kafka often seems suspended in strangeness,

Iako se Kafka često čini zatečenim čudnovatošću,

there’s a tenderness and integrity at the heart of his mission

u srži njegove misije nalazimo nežnost i integritet

that keeps him moving forward.

koji ga vuku napred.

Gradually he comes to accept his inner confusion.

Postepeno prihvata svoju unutrašnju zbrku.

In the end, his experience echoes the reader’s:

Naposletku, njegovo iskustvo preslikava čitaočevo:

the deeper you go, the more you find.

što dublje idete, više otkrijete.