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the_f_reader's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
thisotherbookaccount's review
3.0
Madness is madness for a reason — it is very hard to put it into words. Fires on the Plain by Shohei Ooka is essentially the story of a Japanese soldier's slow descend into madness as he tries to survive on an island after his battalion is destroyed by the Americans in WWII.
The tricky bit about writing a character like that is you know he will eventually go to a place that readers cannot follow. It's the same with books about drug abuse, when the author goes to great lengths (sometimes based on experience) to describe what it is like, in real life, to go on a 'trip'. If you hadn't taken drugs before, you'd likely be completely lost — but there's a small niche of readers who'd immediately click in with whatever's happening on the page.
The same thing is happening here with our protagonist. You see his humanity and sanity get stripped away page by page, and by the end he is blabbering about spirituality and Christianity and, well, let's just say, it's a lot. I think the book lost me a bit in the last 20% or so, simply because it took a dive into the deep end. That is not a knock on Ooka's writing, though, because I think the writing — and the translation — serves the story quite well. I like how the story is written by a former Japanese soldier just seven years after Japan's surrender. It strips away the romance to reveal the realities of warfare — soldiers wandering through the forests in tattered clothes, shitting their pants and starving to death. It is a brave work for a time when Japan, in defeat, must have been looking for a way to justify their losses; to believe that it wasn't all for nothing. What Ooka has accomplished is to dish out the hard truth: yes, it was for nothing, and the soldiers paid the gravest price.
With that said, the madness did get a bit much, but at least this is a short book and doesn't last very long on the page. If you want a harrowing story about the mental effects of war, told from the losing side no less, this is a good place to start.
The tricky bit about writing a character like that is you know he will eventually go to a place that readers cannot follow. It's the same with books about drug abuse, when the author goes to great lengths (sometimes based on experience) to describe what it is like, in real life, to go on a 'trip'. If you hadn't taken drugs before, you'd likely be completely lost — but there's a small niche of readers who'd immediately click in with whatever's happening on the page.
The same thing is happening here with our protagonist. You see his humanity and sanity get stripped away page by page, and by the end he is blabbering about spirituality and Christianity and, well, let's just say, it's a lot. I think the book lost me a bit in the last 20% or so, simply because it took a dive into the deep end. That is not a knock on Ooka's writing, though, because I think the writing — and the translation — serves the story quite well. I like how the story is written by a former Japanese soldier just seven years after Japan's surrender. It strips away the romance to reveal the realities of warfare — soldiers wandering through the forests in tattered clothes, shitting their pants and starving to death. It is a brave work for a time when Japan, in defeat, must have been looking for a way to justify their losses; to believe that it wasn't all for nothing. What Ooka has accomplished is to dish out the hard truth: yes, it was for nothing, and the soldiers paid the gravest price.
With that said, the madness did get a bit much, but at least this is a short book and doesn't last very long on the page. If you want a harrowing story about the mental effects of war, told from the losing side no less, this is a good place to start.
alexcavanaugh's review
4.0
Incredible novel depicting how far war pushes those forced into conflict. It in no way glorifies war, but rather depicts war as what it is: a miserable, horrific tragedy from start to finish. This novel is a great read for anyone unfamiliar with the experiences and struggles of the Japanese soldiers, as most war media consumed in the U.S. focuses on the American experience.
I knocked a star off the rating mostly due to what I consider excessive descriptions of the nature of the island. Context for a narrator's surroundings is good, but I found myself often having to push through long explanations about the geography of the island. I found these explanations monotonous and also filled with terminology that the average person wouldn't recognize, which meant one can either arduously stop and Google a word every few sentences, or just skim over it.
Additionally, the narrator disparages women near the very end of the novel, saying "all women are whores." I found this unnecessary and just left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Overall though, I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone. I think it should be amongst the mandatory reading for anyone who believes war should still be waged in this day and age.
I knocked a star off the rating mostly due to what I consider excessive descriptions of the nature of the island. Context for a narrator's surroundings is good, but I found myself often having to push through long explanations about the geography of the island. I found these explanations monotonous and also filled with terminology that the average person wouldn't recognize, which meant one can either arduously stop and Google a word every few sentences, or just skim over it.
Additionally, the narrator disparages women near the very end of the novel, saying "all women are whores." I found this unnecessary and just left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Overall though, I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone. I think it should be amongst the mandatory reading for anyone who believes war should still be waged in this day and age.
pr_holofernes's review
3.75
Alright, the prose is beautiful. And that's just it. Maybe I didn't really understand this, but it had a good aim and completely missed the mark.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
野火 (野火, feu.x de forêt maîtrisé)/"Les Feux" par Ōoka Shōhei (大岡 昇平). Traduction de Rose-Marie Makino-Fayolle.
catmar19's review
3.0
I nabbed this book from the book room of the school. The cover artwork looked interesting, and it's become something of a goal of mine to go through and read as many of the books in there that I can.
First off, it's a translation. I don't like that. I'm one of those purist folks who think that literature is best taken in it's native tongue if at all possible. Alas, that would cut down on my reading of many great books, so I have to go against that principle of mine. But I feel that I don't connect with it as well. That probably happened here. The style was dry, and not being a Japanese literature buff, I couldn't say whether it stemmed from the translation, Japanese literature in general, or just that particular author.
And generally I enjoy a good war book, which is ironic in that I am largely a pscifist, so I was excited to read that some critic out that thought that this is "one of the great books about war in any literature." It was on par, but I was a bit confused by the heavy Christian influence and some of the ideas. There was quite a bit of the roaming-through-the-woods type of thing that brings to mind The Red Badge of Courage, but unlike Henry, the protagonist, Tamura, encounters much worse. I was pretty aghast at the cannibalism, as most are, and I think that author handled it well.
Overall, great writing. Depressing book, though. (duh!)
First off, it's a translation. I don't like that. I'm one of those purist folks who think that literature is best taken in it's native tongue if at all possible. Alas, that would cut down on my reading of many great books, so I have to go against that principle of mine. But I feel that I don't connect with it as well. That probably happened here. The style was dry, and not being a Japanese literature buff, I couldn't say whether it stemmed from the translation, Japanese literature in general, or just that particular author.
And generally I enjoy a good war book, which is ironic in that I am largely a pscifist, so I was excited to read that some critic out that thought that this is "one of the great books about war in any literature." It was on par, but I was a bit confused by the heavy Christian influence and some of the ideas. There was quite a bit of the roaming-through-the-woods type of thing that brings to mind The Red Badge of Courage, but unlike Henry, the protagonist, Tamura, encounters much worse. I was pretty aghast at the cannibalism, as most are, and I think that author handled it well.
Overall, great writing. Depressing book, though. (duh!)
marathonreader's review
challenging
dark
slow-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
3.5
An examination of a stranded soldier's ability to protect, preserve, or recover his humanity, to stay alive, to stay sane. This book will read to you either like a hazy, horrific nightmare or a chaotic, cannabalistic Shudder Island. But I think both speak echoes about the condition of survivors of war.
"As I lagged behind the young man, a fragment of the grenade tore a piece form my shoulder. I quickly picked up the morsel, wiped off the dirt, and popped it in my mouth. There could certainly be nothing wrong in eating my own flesh" (221)
"As I lagged behind the young man, a fragment of the grenade tore a piece form my shoulder. I quickly picked up the morsel, wiped off the dirt, and popped it in my mouth. There could certainly be nothing wrong in eating my own flesh" (221)
ornebbn's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0