Reviews

Comment un texte peut-il dégoûter et épater à la fois ? Ce roman est exquis dans les juxtapositions sociales. Un vieillard qui a gardé le goût de l'amour s'éprend de sa belle-fille, ancienne danseuse de music-hall à la morale assez libre. Avec beaucoup d'intelligence, elle profite de son beau-père pour lui arracher des libéralités extravagantes et mener une vie de luxe. En compensation, elle lui accorde des privautés savamment limitées et le maintient dans une excitation qui s'exaspère d'autant plus qu'elle ne peut aboutir qu'à de lamentables démonstrations. L'exploitation, le jeu de pouvoir, la dynamique sociale. Il est impuissant : elle n'a rien perdu de son pouvoir. Donc, bien qu'il soit impuissant, elle lui permet de la toucher, de la caresser un peu, peut-être de lui embrasser les pieds, quelque chose comme ça. Peut-être le plus choquant, mis à part l'étrange dynamique du pouvoir incestueux, est le fait que le reste de la famille ne semble pas s'en soucier. Personne n'en a rien à foutre ; personne s'en fout.

Je ne peux pas dire que je l'ai bien aimé mais tout le monde me comprend, j'ai confiance.

nosurprisws's review

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medium-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

2.5

geistership's review against another edition

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4.0

The diary style the book is written in makes it very easy to read, and also quite quickly. I don't know if it's because of the short 'chapters' in the form of day-to-day diary entry, but I definitely processed faster than I thought I would. The writing style on itself of course influences it as well - the pacing is done very well and though quite uneventful events are described, it does not get boring. There is just the right amount of details, either in the MC's describing of what happened that day or of what he was thinking in the giving situation.

Satsuko was... I would say, she was exactly how I expected her to be, even though I had partially hoped she wouldn't be, but the end kind of got me thinking. Where I read the parts written by other characters in the story, she seemed different. Now of course, it could be just her showing different faces to the MC and to the other family/non family members and it very likely was. But with the fact that the MC already stated in the beginning, him feeling attracted to mean, sarcastic women, there comes the question if he just wasn't projecting his own feelings on how Satsuko actually acted. Especially since his POV is the only one we are given to judge her character by.

Some parts also made me cringily uncomfortable, and no, I'm not talking about the few erotic parts. I'm talking more about the disease parts. Even though there is nothing described into detail, no disgusting moments, reading the book late into the night in a silent room kind of makes you wonder, what will it be you will be faced with at an old age, what medical problems, what pain. And what will be your driving force to keep on living, if any...

All in all I did like the book on a deeper level. It left an impression. I'll probably brush it aside after a while, but it will leave me wonder and think about things for a bit.

pppabblo's review

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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