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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A bit lackluster when considiring Mishimas other work. But still a unique story and beautiful images.
An intense and disturbing tale of a love triangle gone bad, this is a bleak and brief novel. Be sure to read the epilogue for the author's description of the origin of the story.
This is very Mishima in both the good and bad. The good: beautiful imagery, the interplay of nature and humanity, meditations on morality and love. The bad: underwritten female agency, a yearning for what was (problematic or not), the jarring brutality of sexual relations. Sits nicely alongside Thirst for Love and the love triangle in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
dark
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"At the time, I could no longer endure that putrid world; a world bereft of logic. It was necessary that I impart some logic into that world of pigs' entrails. And so you see, I imparted the cold, hard, black logic of iron. Namely, the logic of the wrench."
I'm really surprised by other reviews of this novel, it's my favourite of Mishima's that I've read so far (in fairness, I've got a fair lot more to get through). Not only is it beautifully written, it's also one of the most horrifying and unnerving novels I've read - and it doesn't feel like it makes much effort to.
There was one scene - and it's not a violent one - that really just mortified me with the idea and motivation behind why Koji and Yuko were doing what they were doing in it (clue: Ippei is forced to watch).
All three of the characters in the love triangle play victims and villains, at moments the lines blur so well that you question whether it's fair to cast judgement on the damaged three (Koji and Yuko are consistently and disturbingly horrible from early on though). They become prisoners to each other in a bleakly justifying way.
The blurb on the back says it best: "The Frolic of the Beasts" explores the masks we wear in life, and what happens when they slip."
I'm really surprised by other reviews of this novel, it's my favourite of Mishima's that I've read so far (in fairness, I've got a fair lot more to get through). Not only is it beautifully written, it's also one of the most horrifying and unnerving novels I've read - and it doesn't feel like it makes much effort to.
There was one scene - and it's not a violent one - that really just mortified me with the idea and motivation behind why Koji and Yuko were doing what they were doing in it (clue: Ippei is forced to watch).
All three of the characters in the love triangle play victims and villains, at moments the lines blur so well that you question whether it's fair to cast judgement on the damaged three (Koji and Yuko are consistently and disturbingly horrible from early on though). They become prisoners to each other in a bleakly justifying way.
The blurb on the back says it best: "The Frolic of the Beasts" explores the masks we wear in life, and what happens when they slip."
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dark. Very dark and bleak.