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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
The only other book I've read of Mishima's is [b:The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea|162332|The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea|Yukio Mishima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327629352s/162332.jpg|880874], and I loved it. So I had great expectations for this book, part one of the tetralogy considered to be the author's magnum opus, and yes, I was not disappointed.
Mishima drags us into the world of Kiyoake Matsugae, Satoko Ayakura and Shigekuni Honda, set in the waning days of Japanese imperialist glory. Matsugae and Ayakura are caught in a violent love affair that threatens them, and Honda, the faithful friend, can do nothing but watch as the lovers hurtle toward their tragic end.
Through the eyes of the young protagonists, we see the Japan of the elite, shrouded in meaningless elegance. We see the Count and his family, low on fortune, but rich in historical pomp, bringing up Kiyoake, instilling in him the same disdain for the world that they have, thus sowing the seeds of his misfortune. We see Marquis Matsugae and his new money, the affluence that the Ayakuras envy, accompanied by a courseness that they look down on, even though it is this courseness that eventually manages to save their dignity.
And then we have the star crossed lovers, living in a time where they had to follow their circumstance, even though their hearts dictated otherwise.
The prose is beautiful, and there is a special kind of angst in the characters, an ennui that is devastating and bittersweet at the same time. Mishima paints a beautiful picture that is at once poignant and tragic, set against the backdrop of the rapidly declining Imperial legacy.
Book 2 picks up around 20 years after the end of this book, and I can't wait to start reading it.
Mishima drags us into the world of Kiyoake Matsugae, Satoko Ayakura and Shigekuni Honda, set in the waning days of Japanese imperialist glory. Matsugae and Ayakura are caught in a violent love affair that threatens them, and Honda, the faithful friend, can do nothing but watch as the lovers hurtle toward their tragic end.
Through the eyes of the young protagonists, we see the Japan of the elite, shrouded in meaningless elegance. We see the Count and his family, low on fortune, but rich in historical pomp, bringing up Kiyoake, instilling in him the same disdain for the world that they have, thus sowing the seeds of his misfortune. We see Marquis Matsugae and his new money, the affluence that the Ayakuras envy, accompanied by a courseness that they look down on, even though it is this courseness that eventually manages to save their dignity.
And then we have the star crossed lovers, living in a time where they had to follow their circumstance, even though their hearts dictated otherwise.
The prose is beautiful, and there is a special kind of angst in the characters, an ennui that is devastating and bittersweet at the same time. Mishima paints a beautiful picture that is at once poignant and tragic, set against the backdrop of the rapidly declining Imperial legacy.
Book 2 picks up around 20 years after the end of this book, and I can't wait to start reading it.
2.75 Mi trovo un po' in difficoltà con questo libro perché ho fatto molta fatica a terminarlo a causa dello stile, per me, troppo artificioso e a tratti "pesante". La storia in sé non mi è dispiaciuta, dalla metà in poi è avvincente e sembra di seguire una soap. Sono rimasta poi molto colpita dall'introspezione dei personaggi e affascinata dalle descrizioni della natura
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is LITERATURE! Mishima has done it again! He’s always surprising me. I can totally see why people say this is one of his best works. I can’t wait to finish the rest. This took me quite a while to finish (I think it was like 4 days) the writing was complex and it took a lot of my time and concentration but the drama and the plot was so interesting that it kept me focused. The writing was stunning, the characterizations were on point, and the way everything from the architecture of that era to the nature of Japan felt as if I was watching a movie about it. This is a book that should be taught as a text because it’s just that good. I highly highly recommend and also encourage everyone to at least read this once in their lifetime. It’s just that good.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So beautifully written that it makes up for having an absolutely insufferable main character.
Spring Snow is a historical fiction novel by Yukio Mishima, which explores several wealthy characters in Japan during the early years of the Taisho period. The main family who’s story is being told is the Matsugae family, with the central character being Kiyoaki Matsugae, the son of the rising aristrocrat, Marquis Matsugae and his relationship with the daughter of the Count Ayakura, Satoko.
Spring Snow is a VERY character-driven story with a lot of psychological warfare going on with several characters, especially between Kiyoaki and Satoko, who have a relationship reminiscent of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights.
Kiyaoki is an aloof and yet emotionally volatile character.It’s almost as if his natural state of being is indifference and if anything disturbs that, he becomes quite aggressive towards whoever disturbed his peace, sometimes passively but other times very head-on. Satoko is one character who does disturb his peace. Satoko and Kiyaoki very clearly have romantic feelings about each other, but Kiyaoki is extremely hesitant (at-first) to act on his feelings and seems to have an internal war with himself over the nature of his feelings. He doesn’t want to act on them, but get annoyed whenever they show up and takes it out on Satoko. His conflict and initial refusal to accept his feelings results in tragedy for everyone involved, including both of their families.
The main witness to these events is Shigekuni Honda, who provides the main viewpoint in the all four novels in the series, but from what I’ve seen (I’ve read the first two), is both an important figure in all of the stories and yet is never the central character, despite being one of the few characters to be featured in all four novels and being a main part of each narrative. To be fair, He’s the only character who’s got it together in almost every way and so his story would likely not be very interesting to begin with. Also, this gives the author to have a familiar face throughout his series, while also having real consequences for the main character of each novel.
Even though this novel and series is character-driven, it is very much the story and actions of these characters that make you want to come to this series, rather then any personality traits/quirks of the characters themselves. Personally, I don’t Mishima is trying to make his characters people you are rooting for or getting emotionally attached to. It feels more like watching a senseless tragedy unfold, one where you feel horrible for everyone involved, and yet are still likely to call them idiots and putting themselves in their predicaments.
Mishima is also a very atmospheric writer. He does a great job are describing not only the setting, but everything underlying any exchange or moment. There is a lot of psychological power plays in this novel, and Mishima has the ability to turn any conversation into a dramatic event, unpacking everything in the character’s heads, their emotions and the atmosphere, almost making the reader an extension of Honda, who is aware of everything unfolding in front of him but doesn’t have much influence in the direction of the novel or the character’s actions. I wonder if Honda is intentionally shown to be less involved in the affairs of others because Mishima was going for this affect.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read and makes me want to read all of Mishima’s works. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of tragedies or Wuthering Heights.
Spring Snow is a VERY character-driven story with a lot of psychological warfare going on with several characters, especially between Kiyoaki and Satoko, who have a relationship reminiscent of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights.
Kiyaoki is an aloof and yet emotionally volatile character.It’s almost as if his natural state of being is indifference and if anything disturbs that, he becomes quite aggressive towards whoever disturbed his peace, sometimes passively but other times very head-on. Satoko is one character who does disturb his peace. Satoko and Kiyaoki very clearly have romantic feelings about each other, but Kiyaoki is extremely hesitant (at-first) to act on his feelings and seems to have an internal war with himself over the nature of his feelings. He doesn’t want to act on them, but get annoyed whenever they show up and takes it out on Satoko. His conflict and initial refusal to accept his feelings results in tragedy for everyone involved, including both of their families.
The main witness to these events is Shigekuni Honda, who provides the main viewpoint in the all four novels in the series, but from what I’ve seen (I’ve read the first two), is both an important figure in all of the stories and yet is never the central character, despite being one of the few characters to be featured in all four novels and being a main part of each narrative. To be fair, He’s the only character who’s got it together in almost every way and so his story would likely not be very interesting to begin with. Also, this gives the author to have a familiar face throughout his series, while also having real consequences for the main character of each novel.
Even though this novel and series is character-driven, it is very much the story and actions of these characters that make you want to come to this series, rather then any personality traits/quirks of the characters themselves. Personally, I don’t Mishima is trying to make his characters people you are rooting for or getting emotionally attached to. It feels more like watching a senseless tragedy unfold, one where you feel horrible for everyone involved, and yet are still likely to call them idiots and putting themselves in their predicaments.
Mishima is also a very atmospheric writer. He does a great job are describing not only the setting, but everything underlying any exchange or moment. There is a lot of psychological power plays in this novel, and Mishima has the ability to turn any conversation into a dramatic event, unpacking everything in the character’s heads, their emotions and the atmosphere, almost making the reader an extension of Honda, who is aware of everything unfolding in front of him but doesn’t have much influence in the direction of the novel or the character’s actions. I wonder if Honda is intentionally shown to be less involved in the affairs of others because Mishima was going for this affect.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read and makes me want to read all of Mishima’s works. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of tragedies or Wuthering Heights.
The characters are vividly written, and Mishima’s prose paints such a vibrant and elegant picture of Japan in 1912. Elaborate descriptions of the environment that I always took akin to. While I do think it also goes on many tangents that do annoy me quite a bit sometimes and was a drag at times in the beginning. I found chapters in the middle to be pointless drawn out and a bore at times. But as it draws to an end the last 100 pages are strong (although tragic). I can’t wait to dive deeper into Mishima’s work as the themes I hear only get stronger and more prominent.
“It was a morning when light flakes of snow danced in the brisk wind that swept over the plain of Yamato. They seemed too fragile even for spring snow, but were rather more reminiscent of a swarm of summer insects…only when the sun shone through, did one become aware of the powdery, swirling snow. The powder in the air was worse than it would have been on a day of heavy snow.”
“It was a morning when light flakes of snow danced in the brisk wind that swept over the plain of Yamato. They seemed too fragile even for spring snow, but were rather more reminiscent of a swarm of summer insects…only when the sun shone through, did one become aware of the powdery, swirling snow. The powder in the air was worse than it would have been on a day of heavy snow.”