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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a disturbing book. First of all, I kind of understand that Noboru is curious about sex and human body since he's 13 y/o boy. But as I read further, I don't think him watching his mother pleasuring herself and her and her love interest have sex, is not just abt being curious. IMO, he watches it bcs of his friend group. This lead to my second point.
I believe Noboru wouldn't be a disturbing child if it was not bcs of his choice in friends. The chief gives this kind of idea that a man should be tough and never settle down. In other words, toxic masculinity and I'm not sure what's the word for degrading someone that share the same gender as them. I also read an article that Noboru and his friends is like a cult which now I can see it bcs of that one particular part in this book. As I said before, I don't think Noboru wouldn't be a disturbing child if he hadn't met the chief and the other numbers. I think deep down, Noboru still believes that what the chief said is bullshit. For example, he got overreacted when he heard one of the numbers' dad hit him. IMO, bcs of the chief, the others became toxic. The real villain in this story is the chief. And if it weren't for the chief, Norobu would be happy to have Ryuji as his father. Even though he's not a sailor anymore, I'm pretty sure he'd still love him.
Lastly, Ryuji is such a sweetheart. When he confronted Norobu after him and Fusako found out what Norobu did, my heart melt.
I believe Noboru wouldn't be a disturbing child if it was not bcs of his choice in friends. The chief gives this kind of idea that a man should be tough and never settle down. In other words, toxic masculinity and I'm not sure what's the word for degrading someone that share the same gender as them. I also read an article that Noboru and his friends is like a cult which now I can see it bcs of that one particular part in this book. As I said before, I don't think Noboru wouldn't be a disturbing child if he hadn't met the chief and the other numbers. I think deep down, Noboru still believes that what the chief said is bullshit. For example, he got overreacted when he heard one of the numbers' dad hit him. IMO, bcs of the chief, the others became toxic. The real villain in this story is the chief. And if it weren't for the chief, Norobu would be happy to have Ryuji as his father. Even though he's not a sailor anymore, I'm pretty sure he'd still love him.
Lastly, Ryuji is such a sweetheart. When he confronted Norobu after him and Fusako found out what Norobu did, my heart melt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book beautifully describes the surrounding and terrain. It also has a dark reflection on the influence a cult has on its members and how life can have two different meanings at once, and choosing one is harder than we think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
"Fathers! Just think about it for a minute—they’re enough to make you puke. Fathers are evil itself, laden with everything ugly in Man. There is no such thing as a good father because the role itself is bad. Strict fathers, soft fathers, nice moderate fathers—one’s as bad as another. They stand in the way of our progress while they try to burden us with their inferiority complexes, and their unrealized aspirations, and their resentments, and their ideals, and the weaknesses they’ve never told anyone about, and their sins, and their sweeter-than-honey dreams, and the maxims they’ve never had the courage to live by—they’d like to unload all that silly crap on us, all of it! Even the most neglectful fathers, like mine, are no different. Their consciences hurt them because they’ve never paid any attention to their children and they want the kids to understand just how bad the
pain is—to sympathize!
On New Year’s Day we went to Arashi Yama in Kyoto and as we were crossing the Bridge of Moons I asked my old man a question: ‘Dad, is there any purpose in life?’ You see what I was getting at, don’t you, what I really meant? Father, can you give me one single reason why you go on living? Wouldn’t it be better just to fade away as quickly as possible? But a first-class insinuation never reaches a man like that. He just looked surprised and his eyes bugged and he stared at me. I hate that kind of ridiculous adult surprise. And when he finally answered, what do you think he said?
‘Son, nobody is going to provide you with a purpose in life; you’ve got to make one for yourself.’
How’s that for a stupid, hackneyed moral! He just pressed a button and out came one of the things fathers are supposed to say. And did you ever look at a father’s eyes at a time like that? They’re suspicious of anything creative, anxious to whittle the world down into something puny they can handle. A father is a reality-concealing machine, a machine for dishing up lies to kids, and that isn’t even the worst of it: secretly he believes that he represents reality.
Fathers are the flies of this world. They hover around our heads waiting for a chance, and when they see something rotten, they buzz in and root in it. Filthy, lecherous flies broadcasting to the whole world that they’ve screwed with our mothers. And there’s nothing they won’t do to contaminate our freedom and our ability. Nothing they won’t do to protect the filthy cities they’ve built for themselves.”
pain is—to sympathize!
On New Year’s Day we went to Arashi Yama in Kyoto and as we were crossing the Bridge of Moons I asked my old man a question: ‘Dad, is there any purpose in life?’ You see what I was getting at, don’t you, what I really meant? Father, can you give me one single reason why you go on living? Wouldn’t it be better just to fade away as quickly as possible? But a first-class insinuation never reaches a man like that. He just looked surprised and his eyes bugged and he stared at me. I hate that kind of ridiculous adult surprise. And when he finally answered, what do you think he said?
‘Son, nobody is going to provide you with a purpose in life; you’ve got to make one for yourself.’
How’s that for a stupid, hackneyed moral! He just pressed a button and out came one of the things fathers are supposed to say. And did you ever look at a father’s eyes at a time like that? They’re suspicious of anything creative, anxious to whittle the world down into something puny they can handle. A father is a reality-concealing machine, a machine for dishing up lies to kids, and that isn’t even the worst of it: secretly he believes that he represents reality.
Fathers are the flies of this world. They hover around our heads waiting for a chance, and when they see something rotten, they buzz in and root in it. Filthy, lecherous flies broadcasting to the whole world that they’ve screwed with our mothers. And there’s nothing they won’t do to contaminate our freedom and our ability. Nothing they won’t do to protect the filthy cities they’ve built for themselves.”
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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: Animal cruelty
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a marvelous novel that is both dark and carries an allegorical meaning in the grand scheme of things. It delves into a psychological world of a teenager that is detached from the world outside his own.
Yukio Mashima portrays Noboru's character as one caught between conformity within a peer circle and one that questions his beliefs and views about fathers. It is a beautiful yet dark portrayal of our beliefs within a group and how we put our faith in one person to give us the truth. I also looked at it from a religious lense where the chief in the story represents the leader and the followers are the teenagers that do not adopt the same power. They cannot question but blindly follow orders that they perceive to be appropriate. Yet, the absence of reason tends to lead a mind down a dark oath and that is where Noboru's character comes in. The teenagers become part of a cult that functions on the sole purpose of finding meaning in life and abiding my rigid, strict rules of their own creation.
I also found the novel moving because it illustrates the lost glory and inner death of a character like Ryuji who dismisses everything that he was passionate about to adopt a normative life in society. The realization of this death pulls him back towards the sea where his soul lies.
I am a fan of Mashima's writing because he paints vivid images within the dark and disturbing ideas.
I would highly recommend this novel. It reminded me of Lord of the Flies.
Yukio Mashima portrays Noboru's character as one caught between conformity within a peer circle and one that questions his beliefs and views about fathers. It is a beautiful yet dark portrayal of our beliefs within a group and how we put our faith in one person to give us the truth. I also looked at it from a religious lense where the chief in the story represents the leader and the followers are the teenagers that do not adopt the same power. They cannot question but blindly follow orders that they perceive to be appropriate. Yet, the absence of reason tends to lead a mind down a dark oath and that is where Noboru's character comes in. The teenagers become part of a cult that functions on the sole purpose of finding meaning in life and abiding my rigid, strict rules of their own creation.
I also found the novel moving because it illustrates the lost glory and inner death of a character like Ryuji who dismisses everything that he was passionate about to adopt a normative life in society. The realization of this death pulls him back towards the sea where his soul lies.
I am a fan of Mashima's writing because he paints vivid images within the dark and disturbing ideas.
I would highly recommend this novel. It reminded me of Lord of the Flies.
I just finished it and I know it's one of those works that will linger in my mind for a very long time. I intend to read more Mishima.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes