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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
i don’t think i’m smart enough to fully appreciate this book
vastly preferred the second half to the first half. very interesting. kazuko provides an excellent view through which the reader can witness the shifting society of japan after the war. her, her mother, and her brother all reflected differing aspects of humanity and of japans traditional beliefs, and each of their respective fates felt very honest and real
vastly preferred the second half to the first half. very interesting. kazuko provides an excellent view through which the reader can witness the shifting society of japan after the war. her, her mother, and her brother all reflected differing aspects of humanity and of japans traditional beliefs, and each of their respective fates felt very honest and real
Libro del mese del GDL #PaginedaYamato, devo dire che per me non è stato un grande approccio a questo autore.
Non so identificare con precisione cosa non mi è piaciuto: la prosa è scorrevole, certo, ma non amo mai le narrazioni in prima persona, soprattutto quando comincia a elucubrare diecimila pensieri molesti. La vicenda è volutamente decadente, non è una colpa ma nemmeno mi piace. Non sono entrata nemmeno in sintonia con alcuno dei tre personaggi... ma soprattutto credo dipenda da quel vago senso di malessere che mi prendeva ogni volta che dovevo prenderlo in mano e ogni volta che lo poggiavo dopo averlo letto, che tutto sommato penso sia voluto dall'autore, quindi probabilmente devo dargli merito di aver raggiunto l'obiettivo.
Non so identificare con precisione cosa non mi è piaciuto: la prosa è scorrevole, certo, ma non amo mai le narrazioni in prima persona, soprattutto quando comincia a elucubrare diecimila pensieri molesti. La vicenda è volutamente decadente, non è una colpa ma nemmeno mi piace. Non sono entrata nemmeno in sintonia con alcuno dei tre personaggi... ma soprattutto credo dipenda da quel vago senso di malessere che mi prendeva ogni volta che dovevo prenderlo in mano e ogni volta che lo poggiavo dopo averlo letto, che tutto sommato penso sia voluto dall'autore, quindi probabilmente devo dargli merito di aver raggiunto l'obiettivo.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, War
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dazai's novel follows the perspective of Kazuko, the daughter of a former aristocratic family. After the death of their father and their impoverishment, they have to sell their house and move to the mountains, where they stay afloat by selling their belongings. Kazuko experiences her mother's death and resolves to act out her desires to have a novelist Uehara's child, so as to have something to live for - her son. When she is away, her brother commits suicide.
This isn't a novel that impresses with an intricate plot, but one who succeeds by painting a vivid picture of all the main players. Kazuko's mother echoes the aristocratic lady from years past, who is impeccably trained in all manner of crafts, but does not have any skills to help us survive in post-war Japan, and she meekly follows the arrangements of her brother. Kazuko's brother Naoji is portrayed as a talentless uncaring drunkard who fritters away his family's money away, but in his suicide letter, pleads with us not to judge him for his actions. "It is painful for the plant which is myself to live in the atmosphere and light of this world," he explains, " Somewhere an element is lacking which would permit me to continue."
What is this element? In his suicide note, he sets out his doctrine. He feels alienated by his efforts to fit in with those around him. He feels offended by the notion that all men are the same, spitting that it is said out of jealousy "hurled by an ugly man at a handsome one". He is an aristocrat who struggles to adjust to his new status, having been socialised all his life in one way, and now doomed to have to reject those lessons. He compares those who condemn him as "tranquilly urging the Emperor to open a fruit shop".
Kazuko contrasts with her brother in that she is willing to do things to find something to live for. While her mother wastes away and her brother cannot confront the prospect of living in an alien world, she is the only one in her family who does something to secure her future, even it comes with some humiliation. She pleads with him with three letters which he reads but does not respond to, before finally visiting him, unbidden, at one of his drinking parties. Eventually, after the affair, he ignores her still, but she has achieved her goal. She is pregnant, and that is something to live for.
This isn't a novel that impresses with an intricate plot, but one who succeeds by painting a vivid picture of all the main players. Kazuko's mother echoes the aristocratic lady from years past, who is impeccably trained in all manner of crafts, but does not have any skills to help us survive in post-war Japan, and she meekly follows the arrangements of her brother. Kazuko's brother Naoji is portrayed as a talentless uncaring drunkard who fritters away his family's money away, but in his suicide letter, pleads with us not to judge him for his actions. "It is painful for the plant which is myself to live in the atmosphere and light of this world," he explains, " Somewhere an element is lacking which would permit me to continue."
What is this element? In his suicide note, he sets out his doctrine. He feels alienated by his efforts to fit in with those around him. He feels offended by the notion that all men are the same, spitting that it is said out of jealousy "hurled by an ugly man at a handsome one". He is an aristocrat who struggles to adjust to his new status, having been socialised all his life in one way, and now doomed to have to reject those lessons. He compares those who condemn him as "tranquilly urging the Emperor to open a fruit shop".
Kazuko contrasts with her brother in that she is willing to do things to find something to live for. While her mother wastes away and her brother cannot confront the prospect of living in an alien world, she is the only one in her family who does something to secure her future, even it comes with some humiliation. She pleads with him with three letters which he reads but does not respond to, before finally visiting him, unbidden, at one of his drinking parties. Eventually, after the affair, he ignores her still, but she has achieved her goal. She is pregnant, and that is something to live for.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 very nicely written and sad. about a girl living with her sick mother with her brother that has an opium addiction during the war. he comes back and her mom dies and the son states he couldn’t kill himself when she was alive so he did it after she passed. they were
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes