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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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 don't know, I've had some trouble judging Spring Snow. I think my biggest problem is with the concept of elegance. I have this niggling worry that it doesn't actually mean anything, that it gets used as a compliment to an aristocrat for a perceived betterness that can't be quantified because it doesn't really exist. Sort of like how people started to worry about 'character' once blacks, Catholics, poors and other former undesirables were finally allowed to start attending places like Harvard and Yale in the States. That being said, I'm open to the idea that elegance is just something I didn't catch on to and that maybe I just wasn't able to grasp it on this read through.
The last third of the book is actually great. Things start happening again. Kiyokai is such a passive little shit that I actually kind of cheered for him when he tried to blackmail Tadeshina, just because it's nice to see him do something other than brooding. I read that the rest of the books in the tetralogy focus on Honda, which I think will make me more likely to read them eventually.
The last third of the book is actually great. Things start happening again. Kiyokai is such a passive little shit that I actually kind of cheered for him when he tried to blackmail Tadeshina, just because it's nice to see him do something other than brooding. I read that the rest of the books in the tetralogy focus on Honda, which I think will make me more likely to read them eventually.
This book took me kind of awhile to read; it was very deep and even philosophical at times. Excellent read, though. Full review to come.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just wasn't a fan of the book. I only had mediocre feelings about it for the first 150 pages.
Also can we address the way the word Geisha is used in place of the word Oiran?? Geisha aren't prostitutes and this book insinuates they are. Unsure if this is just from the translation or if the author just used Geisha willy nilly.
Also can we address the way the word Geisha is used in place of the word Oiran?? Geisha aren't prostitutes and this book insinuates they are. Unsure if this is just from the translation or if the author just used Geisha willy nilly.
A passionate and deceptively complex tale of love. At first glance this seems to be another young lovers tragedy in the making, but Mishima moves the narrative amongst the characters too energetically for it to be simple. There are clues that this all will mean something more.
4 stars for now, but if the rest of _The Sea of Fertility_ continues to deepen what's happened here I'll come back and upgrade it to 5 stars.
Update: After reading Book 2, I now upgrade it to 5 stars. I don't expect books 3 or 4 to cause it to be downgraded.
4 stars for now, but if the rest of _The Sea of Fertility_ continues to deepen what's happened here I'll come back and upgrade it to 5 stars.
Update: After reading Book 2, I now upgrade it to 5 stars. I don't expect books 3 or 4 to cause it to be downgraded.
‘Spring Snow’ is the first book in Mishima’s ‘Sea of Fertility’ tetralogy. It is first and foremost a coming-of-age love story but also concerns itself with the westernisation of Japan during the Taisho era.
Kiyoaki Matsugae is the son of a rising nouveau-riche family who must decide how seriously he feels about his on-off childhood sweetheart Satako, because a potential suitor is being lined up for her in order to strengthen familial ties in the upper echelons of Japanese society. It is only after he tells his parents that he has no particular feeling towards her and the other proposal is accepted, that Kiyoaki realises he is deeply in love with Satako. Go figure.
Despite the agreed marriage arrangement, he vows to make Satako his in light of his recent realisation - morality of little importance to his egotistical want. However, the official nature of the wedding, overseen by the emperor himself due to the importance of the families involved and hence in the public eye, means that Kiyaoki’s sudden change of heart will certainly have serious repercussions were he to act on it. Herein lies the crux of the tale as Kiyoaki and Satako begin chess-like manoeuvres to be together (I should mention she likes him too!)
Although this was a decent read, I much prefer Mishima’s ‘Temple of the Golden Pavilion’. It was interesting (and will continue to be I’m sure as the tetralogy continues) to learn about the zeitgeist of Japan at these times but the immature and spoilt desires of Kiyoaki were a constant irritation. This isn’t to say I didn’t still want to find out what happened, I just became annoyed with his self-importance and disrespect as to how his actions would impact on the other characters’ lives. Also, the female characterisation could have been stronger throughout but I suppose the more I consider it, it was perhaps a fair reflection of their powerlessness and submissiveness.
All in all, it wasn’t perhaps as good as I was suspecting but was readable and interesting nonetheless. Like other world class authors I’ve reviewed, there is no doubt as to Mishima’s quality as a writer. Even in their weaker pieces, such writer’s sufficiently challenge and engage their readers so as to always provide something to chew on at least.
Kiyoaki Matsugae is the son of a rising nouveau-riche family who must decide how seriously he feels about his on-off childhood sweetheart Satako, because a potential suitor is being lined up for her in order to strengthen familial ties in the upper echelons of Japanese society. It is only after he tells his parents that he has no particular feeling towards her and the other proposal is accepted, that Kiyoaki realises he is deeply in love with Satako. Go figure.
Despite the agreed marriage arrangement, he vows to make Satako his in light of his recent realisation - morality of little importance to his egotistical want. However, the official nature of the wedding, overseen by the emperor himself due to the importance of the families involved and hence in the public eye, means that Kiyaoki’s sudden change of heart will certainly have serious repercussions were he to act on it. Herein lies the crux of the tale as Kiyoaki and Satako begin chess-like manoeuvres to be together (I should mention she likes him too!)
Although this was a decent read, I much prefer Mishima’s ‘Temple of the Golden Pavilion’. It was interesting (and will continue to be I’m sure as the tetralogy continues) to learn about the zeitgeist of Japan at these times but the immature and spoilt desires of Kiyoaki were a constant irritation. This isn’t to say I didn’t still want to find out what happened, I just became annoyed with his self-importance and disrespect as to how his actions would impact on the other characters’ lives. Also, the female characterisation could have been stronger throughout but I suppose the more I consider it, it was perhaps a fair reflection of their powerlessness and submissiveness.
All in all, it wasn’t perhaps as good as I was suspecting but was readable and interesting nonetheless. Like other world class authors I’ve reviewed, there is no doubt as to Mishima’s quality as a writer. Even in their weaker pieces, such writer’s sufficiently challenge and engage their readers so as to always provide something to chew on at least.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was very slow and difficult to get into, hence why it took me so long to read.