Scan barcode
hazelppp's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I like the story and the quiet beauty it conveys that’s quite often depicted in Japanese literature, but I don’t get the ending, it’s like seeing the lightning in rainy days and as a reader, I expected the story to continue and then found out it ends, out of shock. That’s so saddd.
ashleigheva's review against another edition
4.0
(3.75/5)
wow i really spread this book out over a longgg time
the language is stunning and the book brought up some intriguing ideas
but the shifts in timing feel too abrupt for my liking and sometimes the run on sentences and description and metaphorical manners of speech get a bit too draggy
i wish we got more of the last two pages with the symbolic imagery of burning and the colour red. the sentence structure also beautifully compounded with this to create easily one of the most captivating sections of the book. not sure if i'm being too harsh but i do find it a shame that it took me the whole book to find a part i liked that much. (though honestly that isn't even necessarily a bad thing, i just think that in the context of this book, in which it took me months to finish because i kept getting bored and stopping to read other things, i would've greatly benefitted from reading something that struck me profoundly much earlier in the book. but of course what piques my interest is an entirely subjective matter that has little to do with the writer's intentions and craft. wow what a long disclaimer)
i didn't like it nearly as much as i deeply loved kokoro but i'm still glad to have read it :-)
wow i really spread this book out over a longgg time
the language is stunning and the book brought up some intriguing ideas
but the shifts in timing feel too abrupt for my liking and sometimes the run on sentences and description and metaphorical manners of speech get a bit too draggy
i wish we got more of the last two pages with the symbolic imagery of burning and the colour red. the sentence structure also beautifully compounded with this to create easily one of the most captivating sections of the book. not sure if i'm being too harsh but i do find it a shame that it took me the whole book to find a part i liked that much. (though honestly that isn't even necessarily a bad thing, i just think that in the context of this book, in which it took me months to finish because i kept getting bored and stopping to read other things, i would've greatly benefitted from reading something that struck me profoundly much earlier in the book. but of course what piques my interest is an entirely subjective matter that has little to do with the writer's intentions and craft. wow what a long disclaimer)
i didn't like it nearly as much as i deeply loved kokoro but i'm still glad to have read it :-)
raimalia's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 (Spoiler Free)
I wanted to try a smaller read before I tackle Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. Little did I know this book would take me a week to get through, despite not being nearly as long as the novels I'm used to.
As with many Japanese texts I have come to read, And Then is slow-paced...painfully so. That said, it is by no means a bad book. I enjoyed the philosophical arguments Daisuke came up with. At times, he could come off as pretentious but still, there is much to think about.
The plot was engaging, but you have to get through quite a bit of exposition. Daisuke's life revolves around hyper-observation which can be interesting at times but often ends up giving you drawn out paragraphs to read through. I took until about halfway through the book for me to really get hooked. Even still, I got distracted easily.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this book is the relationship between Western and Japanese customs. Daisuke makes his own commentary of it, and there is much to recognize in the events of the novel. While he fights between the customs of society and his personal desires, so too does Japan struggle with its own customs in the face of Western influence. The West/Japan dynamic is more of a backdrop to Daisuke's story, but plays beautifully into it.
I think this book is great for people who are okay with slow-pacing in exchange for more exposition to analyze.
I wanted to try a smaller read before I tackle Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. Little did I know this book would take me a week to get through, despite not being nearly as long as the novels I'm used to.
As with many Japanese texts I have come to read, And Then is slow-paced...painfully so. That said, it is by no means a bad book. I enjoyed the philosophical arguments Daisuke came up with. At times, he could come off as pretentious but still, there is much to think about.
The plot was engaging, but you have to get through quite a bit of exposition. Daisuke's life revolves around hyper-observation which can be interesting at times but often ends up giving you drawn out paragraphs to read through. I took until about halfway through the book for me to really get hooked. Even still, I got distracted easily.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this book is the relationship between Western and Japanese customs. Daisuke makes his own commentary of it, and there is much to recognize in the events of the novel. While he fights between the customs of society and his personal desires, so too does Japan struggle with its own customs in the face of Western influence. The West/Japan dynamic is more of a backdrop to Daisuke's story, but plays beautifully into it.
I think this book is great for people who are okay with slow-pacing in exchange for more exposition to analyze.
mdom's review against another edition
4.0
Lido em Português.
Eu me identifiquei bastante com o protagonista - filho mais novo, 30 anos, sem emprego e sem preocupações.
Também me identifiquei com o final.
Eu me identifiquei bastante com o protagonista - filho mais novo, 30 anos, sem emprego e sem preocupações.
Também me identifiquei com o final.
More...