Kafka on the Shore

I listened to the audiobook version of Kafka on the Shore and I think the voice changeovers were excellent. You could really experience each one distinctly. A very strong performance overall.

I enjoyed the characters Nakata and Oshima the most. Johnny Walker and Colonel Sanders the least. As for the book itself, the story, or should I say the stories, were all unique, and the writing style is very fascinating. It intertwines many ideas and messages into different narratives and then brings them together in the end.

© 2026 Sindhuja Cheema Enzinger. All Rights Reserved.

The Stranger

The author makes you feel as if you are actually present in the story. The plot itself is very simple, and the language is straightforward, yet the small details make it feel like you are standing right there in the scene. If a translation of a work can make you feel like you are living inside the book, it makes you wonder how well written the original must be. Albert Camus is truly skilled to pull that off. The book mirrors the absurdity of society and the expectations and norms that have evolved over time. Meursault, the protagonist, is simply living his life one day at a time, until he commits a crime that changes everything. But it raises a question: was he even fully in control of what he did, or was it the result of the circumstances around him, the situation he was in, and everything that led up to that moment? In the end the real absurdity lies in how society becomes convinced that he is a bad person not because of what he did, but because of what he didn’t do.

© 2026 Sindhuja Cheema Enzinger. All Rights Reserved.