Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mishima weaves together the strands of youth, elegance, possession, love, and death to create a rich portrait of the complex relationship between two families, one new-money and one aristocratic.
another great addition to the "on Friday night I kissed a girl and she immediately started crying" series
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Breathtaking. Mishima is one of the great Romantics - so compelling and dreamlike that it will make you actively wonder why anyone would want to write like Hemingway (with all due respect to Hemingway). A mix of social satire, eulogy, obsession with youth, and rapturous description of constant, haunting sensation mixing with the nature surrounding it.
Spring Snow, the first part of the celebrated Sea of Fertility tetralogy, is the second novel I have read by Yukio Mishima. I read The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea last summer and was blown away by its incredibly somber, yet profoundly beautiful aesthetic. Spring Snow isn't quite as dark but what it lacks in gloominess it makes up for in tragic force. The story takes place in Tokyo during the early days of the Taishō era, not even a decade after the end of the Russo-Japanese War. The Taishō era was preceded by the rather turbulent Meiji era that had seen a lot of unrest, as well as significant moves towards internationalism and a more westernized society. The story centers around a couple of aristocratic families that become entangled in a web of sin and secrecy, while also being subject to dramatic cultural change.
I was not disappointed. Mishima gives unique insight into the minds of his deeply troubled characters that always seem to make the wrong decisons, often due to an overheightened sense of pride leading to outright denial of their own feelings. Especially the young characters have very distinct personalities and are often not very relatable. I mean this in the best way possible. There's a constant uneasiness hovering over the reader's head that manages to glue one's attention to every single sentence. While the story is nothing too much out of the ordinary, I was baffled by the beautiful language and the picturesque aesthetic that guides the reader smoothely through the almost 400 pages of the novel. Certainly a not unsubstantial amount of credit has to be given to the translator Michael Gallagher who is precise, yet incredibly poetic in his choice of words. Here's a little example:
He looked down at her ear, half-hidden by her hair. With its tinge of pink and its fine curve, the wonder of it made him think of a delicate coral recess that might appear in a dream, containing a tiny, beautifully curved Buddha. There was something mysterious about the hollow of her ear, now fading in the darkness. Was it there that her heart was hidden, he wondered, or was it concealed behind her slightly thin lips and sparkling teeth.
The novel is beautifully written, has a lot of special characters (even though more often than not they are not incredibly likeable), and also provides the reader with a deeper understanding for an important time in Japanese history, while also encouraging him or her to dig a bit deeper into the rich past of a tremendously interesting culture. I liked The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea a bit better but just because its relentlessly dark tone is exactly what I crave when reading fiction. Nonetheless, Spring Snow was a magnificent read and I will soon continue with Runaway Horses, the second installment of Mishima's magnum opus.
I was not disappointed. Mishima gives unique insight into the minds of his deeply troubled characters that always seem to make the wrong decisons, often due to an overheightened sense of pride leading to outright denial of their own feelings. Especially the young characters have very distinct personalities and are often not very relatable. I mean this in the best way possible. There's a constant uneasiness hovering over the reader's head that manages to glue one's attention to every single sentence. While the story is nothing too much out of the ordinary, I was baffled by the beautiful language and the picturesque aesthetic that guides the reader smoothely through the almost 400 pages of the novel. Certainly a not unsubstantial amount of credit has to be given to the translator Michael Gallagher who is precise, yet incredibly poetic in his choice of words. Here's a little example:
He looked down at her ear, half-hidden by her hair. With its tinge of pink and its fine curve, the wonder of it made him think of a delicate coral recess that might appear in a dream, containing a tiny, beautifully curved Buddha. There was something mysterious about the hollow of her ear, now fading in the darkness. Was it there that her heart was hidden, he wondered, or was it concealed behind her slightly thin lips and sparkling teeth.
The novel is beautifully written, has a lot of special characters (even though more often than not they are not incredibly likeable), and also provides the reader with a deeper understanding for an important time in Japanese history, while also encouraging him or her to dig a bit deeper into the rich past of a tremendously interesting culture. I liked The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea a bit better but just because its relentlessly dark tone is exactly what I crave when reading fiction. Nonetheless, Spring Snow was a magnificent read and I will soon continue with Runaway Horses, the second installment of Mishima's magnum opus.
This is the book I've been longing to read. Absolutely beautiful.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 Stars
I lived for the drama, scandals and betrayals of this book's plot.
I lived for the drama, scandals and betrayals of this book's plot.