Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
slow-paced
this book shocked me in how much i engaged with it. it's similar to Kawabata but this is far less indifference. i was considering giving this a 10/10 but i didn't do so as i felt like Mishima's universe and ideas are too foreign for me to engage within the truest sense. with that in mind, i felt like there is something far more truthful and non-contextual embedded in this novel and Mishima itself, and it reaffirms my suspicion that his nationalism and philosophical outlook are merely clothing donned by an artist.
9/10
9/10
challenging
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I doubt that it's the writer or the writing. I think this is poorly translated.
A gorgeous tragedy, somehow both mythic and very real. Mishima's prose is poetry at its most pure. Each time I picked up this book, within a few sentences I was fully immersed into its world. The characters are incredibly complex and the strictures that guide their lives are fascinating. I cannot recommend this book enough; I think there's something appealing for everyone here, and I can't wait to read the rest of the tetralogy.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
mishima ate so fucking haaaarrd with this book...like this man knows how to write about yearning...the metaphors were so beautiful. i read thirst for love before this which was good but he was really in his game with this book. the interweaving of buddhism was something that really appealed to me (going thru a religious awakening) but it was just so beautiful... kiyoaki pissed me off at times tbh but he's genuinely just an avoidant man that could easily be found again in the twenty-first century. the circumstances of his relationship with satoko was vexing at times but it was drawn out so beautifully that i can forgive the character flaws. a gorgeous gorgeous book that i wish i could read for the first time again
no doubt my favourite by Mishima after the golden temple, I love him, the last chapter....
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
56th book of 2020.
Finally finished. This book was one to be savoured. As my fifth Mishima book, though not my favourite (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion still holds that title), I think the language in this one has been the best so far. Nothing short of beautiful. Every sentence seems to have been thought about, crafted, weighted... Mesmerising descriptions, both of the external worlds and internal emotions of the characters.
The only reason this hasn't become my favourite Mishima, or become a new favourite book of mine, which it was tempting in the beginning, is because of the plot. I raced through the first one hundred pages, spellbound by the writing, and then the plot lulled, and lulled some more; even the writing then wasn't enough to excite me as much as I had been before. It's your typical star crossed lovers story, at its heart. If you care for language, read this book, no other way around it. If you don't care as much for the beauty of prose, and want a good plot, I don't know if I'd rush to recommend this. However, let me showcase some of this language I've been babbling about:
"As for me, I've always wanted to know the secret that enables love to evade the bonds of time and space as if by magic. To stand before the person we love is not the same as loving her true self, for we are only apt to regard her physical beauty as the indispensable mode of her existence. When time and space intervene, it is possible to be deceived by both, but on the other hand, it is equally possible to draw twice as close to her real self."
Then there was the ink that smelled dark and solemn, and the sound made by the tip of the brush as it raced over the surface of the scroll, like the wind rustling through bamboo grass. And finally, there was the sea - the well of the inkstone was the sea, and above it rose the hill with the strange name. This sea fell away so sharply from its shore that it gave not so much as a glimpse of its shallow bed. The still black sea, without a single wave, a sea spangled with gold powder fallen from the ink stick, always made him think of the rays of the moon fragmented on the night sea of eternity.
His own heart seemed to him to be much like an arrow stripped of the flashing white feathers that gave it direction.
"My eighteenth autumn, this day, this afternoon, this moment: never to come again," he thought, "something already slipping irrevocably away."
A sad book, in conclusion, doomed from the beginning. Mishima has a way of writing about deep profound sadness, especially in men, especially concerning love; especially concerning life.
Finally finished. This book was one to be savoured. As my fifth Mishima book, though not my favourite (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion still holds that title), I think the language in this one has been the best so far. Nothing short of beautiful. Every sentence seems to have been thought about, crafted, weighted... Mesmerising descriptions, both of the external worlds and internal emotions of the characters.
The only reason this hasn't become my favourite Mishima, or become a new favourite book of mine, which it was tempting in the beginning, is because of the plot. I raced through the first one hundred pages, spellbound by the writing, and then the plot lulled, and lulled some more; even the writing then wasn't enough to excite me as much as I had been before. It's your typical star crossed lovers story, at its heart. If you care for language, read this book, no other way around it. If you don't care as much for the beauty of prose, and want a good plot, I don't know if I'd rush to recommend this. However, let me showcase some of this language I've been babbling about:
"As for me, I've always wanted to know the secret that enables love to evade the bonds of time and space as if by magic. To stand before the person we love is not the same as loving her true self, for we are only apt to regard her physical beauty as the indispensable mode of her existence. When time and space intervene, it is possible to be deceived by both, but on the other hand, it is equally possible to draw twice as close to her real self."
Then there was the ink that smelled dark and solemn, and the sound made by the tip of the brush as it raced over the surface of the scroll, like the wind rustling through bamboo grass. And finally, there was the sea - the well of the inkstone was the sea, and above it rose the hill with the strange name. This sea fell away so sharply from its shore that it gave not so much as a glimpse of its shallow bed. The still black sea, without a single wave, a sea spangled with gold powder fallen from the ink stick, always made him think of the rays of the moon fragmented on the night sea of eternity.
His own heart seemed to him to be much like an arrow stripped of the flashing white feathers that gave it direction.
"My eighteenth autumn, this day, this afternoon, this moment: never to come again," he thought, "something already slipping irrevocably away."
A sad book, in conclusion, doomed from the beginning. Mishima has a way of writing about deep profound sadness, especially in men, especially concerning love; especially concerning life.
Beautifully written, Yukio Mishima's "Spring Snow", the first book in his "The Sea of Fertility" tetralogy is simply stunning. It is a terrific blend of love story, Eastern philosophy, Buddhism and 1910 Japanese culture.
The story centers on Kiyoaki, an aristocrat's son who doesn't realize he is in love with a longtime family friend, Satoko until she is engaged to be married to a prince... a definite case of wanting what someone else has. Satoko is also in love with Kiyoaki and they pursue a secret relationship with disastrous results.
The book's strength is the writing, which tremendously descriptive without being overwrought. I enjoyed this book so much that I hope the rest of the series is just as good.
The story centers on Kiyoaki, an aristocrat's son who doesn't realize he is in love with a longtime family friend, Satoko until she is engaged to be married to a prince... a definite case of wanting what someone else has. Satoko is also in love with Kiyoaki and they pursue a secret relationship with disastrous results.
The book's strength is the writing, which tremendously descriptive without being overwrought. I enjoyed this book so much that I hope the rest of the series is just as good.