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artemis72's review against another edition
3.0
3 ⭐
lelah baca ini. lelah sama kelakuan Naomi. lelah sama kelakuan Joji. kayaknya selain b3g0, dia ada kecenderungan masokis deh
lelah baca ini. lelah sama kelakuan Naomi. lelah sama kelakuan Joji. kayaknya selain b3g0, dia ada kecenderungan masokis deh
jamie48's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tiareadsbooks25's review against another edition
4.0
4/5⭐️
Well, aku cukup menikmati trope ini, apalagi pas baca manga/manhwa.✨ Buatku, dinamika cerita age-gap romance seru dan menarik. Imo, mau sejauh apapun age-gap-nya, keduanya harus dalam usia legal. Favorite-ku jelas Sesame Salt and Pudding ya!
Well, aku cukup menikmati trope ini, apalagi pas baca manga/manhwa.✨ Buatku, dinamika cerita age-gap romance seru dan menarik. Imo, mau sejauh apapun age-gap-nya, keduanya harus dalam usia legal. Favorite-ku jelas Sesame Salt and Pudding ya!
callmeash_94's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snwbubsy's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fletcherflute's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars-
A really interesting product of modernist Japanese history where the original boundaries of chastity, social behavior, and ethics were no longer clear.
The narrator, Joji, takes in Naomi, a 15 year old girl, as his “maid,” but really with the design of making her his wife. It’s a Lolita-esque setup of manipulation and grooming.
There’s a lot here about 20th century westernization, and the craze surrounding western clothing, behaviors, cinema, and education. Joji grooms Naomi into this idealistic western woman, but when Naomi becomes closer and closer to that ideal, things start to fly off the rails for him.
It’s a story of about power. About who has traditionally had it, who wants it, and how to lose it. Naomi becomes a master manipulator, and has Joji on his hands and knees willing to sacrifice his morality, money, and dignity.
Side note:
Is this book feminist? I think maybe it can be read that way (though I don’t think it normally is). But if you think about it, Naomi WINS. She gets everything she ever aspired to, and has all of the power she wanted.
I think the main thing that makes this reading difficult is that it is hard to find Tanizaki’s position in this novel, especially with the close first person reading. An alternate translation of the title is “Fool’s Love,” so it’s clear that Tanizaki agrees that Joji is an idiot. However it’s a little bit harder to dissect his thoughts on Naomi as a character.
All that said, I’d pick this one up. It’s a fairly quick read, and there’s a lot to unravel and think on.
A really interesting product of modernist Japanese history where the original boundaries of chastity, social behavior, and ethics were no longer clear.
The narrator, Joji, takes in Naomi, a 15 year old girl, as his “maid,” but really with the design of making her his wife. It’s a Lolita-esque setup of manipulation and grooming.
There’s a lot here about 20th century westernization, and the craze surrounding western clothing, behaviors, cinema, and education. Joji grooms Naomi into this idealistic western woman, but when Naomi becomes closer and closer to that ideal, things start to fly off the rails for him.
It’s a story of about power. About who has traditionally had it, who wants it, and how to lose it. Naomi becomes a master manipulator, and has Joji on his hands and knees willing to sacrifice his morality, money, and dignity.
Side note:
Is this book feminist? I think maybe it can be read that way (though I don’t think it normally is). But if you think about it, Naomi WINS. She gets everything she ever aspired to, and has all of the power she wanted.
I think the main thing that makes this reading difficult is that it is hard to find Tanizaki’s position in this novel, especially with the close first person reading. An alternate translation of the title is “Fool’s Love,” so it’s clear that Tanizaki agrees that Joji is an idiot. However it’s a little bit harder to dissect his thoughts on Naomi as a character.
All that said, I’d pick this one up. It’s a fairly quick read, and there’s a lot to unravel and think on.
greg_talbot's review against another edition
2.0
Na-om-i
Similar to Nabokob's "Lolita", an older man is allured by a young maiden and seeks to tame her in his shaping. The tone of the novel is not predatory or manipulative as H.H. in Lolita. Tanizaki's romance is of a more bitter, longing, sad man's lament that woman is just not that into him.
Tanizaki's writing is simple, and has a tastefulness that is more suggestive than explicit. Passages focus on what it means to suffer, to long for emotional intimacy, and he describes this grasping for this relationship in a way I think many people can relate to.
The book can be understood from multiple perspectives too. It's easy to sympathize with Naomi as she matures into a more independent thrill seeker. Read as either a classic moral tale of a corrupting woman or a modern tale of the failings of conventional relationships, Naomi certainly has something to say.
The book often failed to keep my interest, and just really didn't capture what i'm looking for in a novel.
Similar to Nabokob's "Lolita", an older man is allured by a young maiden and seeks to tame her in his shaping. The tone of the novel is not predatory or manipulative as H.H. in Lolita. Tanizaki's romance is of a more bitter, longing, sad man's lament that woman is just not that into him.
Tanizaki's writing is simple, and has a tastefulness that is more suggestive than explicit. Passages focus on what it means to suffer, to long for emotional intimacy, and he describes this grasping for this relationship in a way I think many people can relate to.
The book can be understood from multiple perspectives too. It's easy to sympathize with Naomi as she matures into a more independent thrill seeker. Read as either a classic moral tale of a corrupting woman or a modern tale of the failings of conventional relationships, Naomi certainly has something to say.
The book often failed to keep my interest, and just really didn't capture what i'm looking for in a novel.
syalinna's review against another edition
1.0
Dnf-ing this book after reading it for 100 pages. I also skimmed the next chapters and could see that the narration got even worse.
Basically what I read so far:
- The main character is a 28 year old man and he's attracted to a 15 year old girl.
- He's attracted to this girl bcs she looks "western" and has a face very similar to his favorite actress.
- He plans to "nurture" and "teach" her in order to make her as his ideal wife.
- He insists that he doesn't do anything "defiling" to her, yet he keeps describing her body in so much detail and dressing her up like a doll.
- He eventually marries her and keeps building this "western" persona of her, so he asks her to study English & music, something that he sees as "western".
- The girl is having a hard time understanding English, bes she also never attended any school before.
- The man got angry and start calling her 'stupid' and all kind of things, even tho he himself can't speak English very well.
- The man threatens to kick her out of the house if she doesn't apologize to him, because she is wrong for not trying hard enough to be a "respectable woman".
- The girl apologized, but he describes her as unapologetic and manipulative.
- He brings the story of Cleopatra, in which he sees Cleopatra wickedly seduces men with her charm. He says that the girl is using the same evil tactic on him. - (Keep in mind that all of this happened to a 15 year old girl)
- And of course throughout the narration, he always insists that he is a virtuous man.
Any decent human being could see how disgusting the main character is. I lost all my respect to the author for writing such a loathsome narration.
Basically what I read so far:
- The main character is a 28 year old man and he's attracted to a 15 year old girl.
- He's attracted to this girl bcs she looks "western" and has a face very similar to his favorite actress.
- He plans to "nurture" and "teach" her in order to make her as his ideal wife.
- He insists that he doesn't do anything "defiling" to her, yet he keeps describing her body in so much detail and dressing her up like a doll.
- He eventually marries her and keeps building this "western" persona of her, so he asks her to study English & music, something that he sees as "western".
- The girl is having a hard time understanding English, bes she also never attended any school before.
- The man got angry and start calling her 'stupid' and all kind of things, even tho he himself can't speak English very well.
- The man threatens to kick her out of the house if she doesn't apologize to him, because she is wrong for not trying hard enough to be a "respectable woman".
- The girl apologized, but he describes her as unapologetic and manipulative.
- He brings the story of Cleopatra, in which he sees Cleopatra wickedly seduces men with her charm. He says that the girl is using the same evil tactic on him. - (Keep in mind that all of this happened to a 15 year old girl)
- And of course throughout the narration, he always insists that he is a virtuous man.
Any decent human being could see how disgusting the main character is. I lost all my respect to the author for writing such a loathsome narration.