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summerjohnson521's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Abortion
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Classism, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
aemynadira's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my 1st Mishima book. As I started to write this review, I struggled to find the best way to describe it. A love story seems too banal. Father & son dilemma too simple. Then this answer came to me: an attempt to recapture memory, a moment long gone, set into the frame of tragic love story.
It's a story of Kiyoaki set in Tokyo of 1912. Raised in the family tradition of aristocracy, he fell in love with the elegant and sophisticated Satoko. Her beauty overwhelms him, but for Kiyoaki's father, it’s a bad omen. Satoko is about to marry a royal prince, & when all hopes become non-existent for Kiyoaki, he gives her up only to realize too late the magnitude of his despair & passion. The passion is mutual, & the lovers are set on the dangerous, obsessive course. This illicit affair is doomed from the start & they both have to pay an extraordinary price for it.
The love between Kiyoaki & Satoko is beautiful, but so sad & tragic, full of anxiety, existential crisis & like in real life, timing's a b*tch.
Kiyoaki is not exactly a likable character. He's selfish, manipulative & moody, but also enigmatic, unpredictable & melancholy. Another significant character is Honda, Kiyoaki's friend. I love how he's deeply into nuances & philosophy, & how he always contemplates.
Spring Snow is the 1st book of The Sea Of Fertility tetralogy, but I'm not planning to read the next 3 books yet. Someday, perhaps. In this life or next.
It's a story of Kiyoaki set in Tokyo of 1912. Raised in the family tradition of aristocracy, he fell in love with the elegant and sophisticated Satoko. Her beauty overwhelms him, but for Kiyoaki's father, it’s a bad omen. Satoko is about to marry a royal prince, & when all hopes become non-existent for Kiyoaki, he gives her up only to realize too late the magnitude of his despair & passion. The passion is mutual, & the lovers are set on the dangerous, obsessive course. This illicit affair is doomed from the start & they both have to pay an extraordinary price for it.
The love between Kiyoaki & Satoko is beautiful, but so sad & tragic, full of anxiety, existential crisis & like in real life, timing's a b*tch.
Kiyoaki is not exactly a likable character. He's selfish, manipulative & moody, but also enigmatic, unpredictable & melancholy. Another significant character is Honda, Kiyoaki's friend. I love how he's deeply into nuances & philosophy, & how he always contemplates.
Spring Snow is the 1st book of The Sea Of Fertility tetralogy, but I'm not planning to read the next 3 books yet. Someday, perhaps. In this life or next.
bi4ncvx's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
woogafolgawomp's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
very serviceable plot, but the writing is often very stiff and utilitarian. the majorit of this books many metaphors feel purposeless (although this could be the fault of the translation i was reading). occasionally, however, mishima writes with vast, awe-inspiring beauty, but i found these moments to be few and far between.
jnowal's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad I read this, although at times it was hard to get through. Most of my interest depended on the very lyrical, beautifully-written descriptions scattered through the book, and on the main character - who I enjoyed because I disliked him so much. What got me through the denser, drawn-out passages was waiting to see how and when Kiyoaki would get what was coming to him, which felt like the wrong reason to be reading this book.
jchinzi's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
labonnecause's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
laura_k9311's review against another edition
5.0
“But it was the kind of experience-like death, like the glow of a jewel, like the beauty of a sunset-that is almost impossible to convey to others.”
I am left unsure of how to express myself
I am left unsure of how to express myself
angeladobre's review against another edition
4.0
https://booknation.ro/recenzie-tetralogia-marea-fertilitatii-de-yukio-mishima/
bibliolucinda's review against another edition
5.0
“Just now I had a dream. I'll see you again. I know it. Beneath the falls.”
Beautiful and heartbreaking, this is a true masterpiece, and one that I didn't expect to hit as hard as it did. Having read The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea last year and enjoying it, but also finding it slightly underwhelming, I wondered if it was worth giving another Mishima novel a go. With Spring Snow, he has reversed my expectations and shot straight to the top of my list to read more works of his. Sublime writing and a tragic narrative combine to make for a truly special novel and reading experience.
"Long ago he had resolved to recognize his emotions as his only guiding truth and to live his life accordingly, even if meant a deliberate aimlessness. That principle had now brought him to his present sinister feelings of joy, which seemed to be the brink of a racing plunging whirlpool. There seemed to be nothing left but to throw himself into it."
Beautiful and heartbreaking, this is a true masterpiece, and one that I didn't expect to hit as hard as it did. Having read The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea last year and enjoying it, but also finding it slightly underwhelming, I wondered if it was worth giving another Mishima novel a go. With Spring Snow, he has reversed my expectations and shot straight to the top of my list to read more works of his. Sublime writing and a tragic narrative combine to make for a truly special novel and reading experience.
"Long ago he had resolved to recognize his emotions as his only guiding truth and to live his life accordingly, even if meant a deliberate aimlessness. That principle had now brought him to his present sinister feelings of joy, which seemed to be the brink of a racing plunging whirlpool. There seemed to be nothing left but to throw himself into it."