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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I reckon more like a 4.5 but this is one of the rare books that really pulls you into it so you feel all the emotions of the narrator. The imagery was so bizarre and vivid to the point that I would think about specific moments it for weeks after. I felt the anguish and confusion of narrator so deeply as I was reading it that it made me have to put it down for periods at a time to cool down. I loved!
3.5 stars.
Insightful, personal, painful. Mishima removes the mask with fearless and unflinching dedication and honesty. His writing is fluid, evocative,and heavily influenced by 20th century, pre-queer-theory, psychology. A landmark work.
Insightful, personal, painful. Mishima removes the mask with fearless and unflinching dedication and honesty. His writing is fluid, evocative,and heavily influenced by 20th century, pre-queer-theory, psychology. A landmark work.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Confessions of a Mask (仮面の告白) by Mishima Yukio, is a pseudo-autobiographical novel about a gay Japanese adolescent chronicling his experiences being raised in the height of Imperialist Japan, and his struggles of coming to terms with his sexuality and the traditional perspective of masculinity. Not going to lie, I binge read Mishima’s Wikipedia page because his life is particularly interesting: a gay man himself who romanticized pre-war Japanese Imperialism and committed ritual suicide after a failed attempt at a coup to restore said Imperialism. The protagonist employing a mask to falsify a specific personality throughout felt real in the sense that I for a moment, forgot that this was a novel. Pseudo-autobiography is seen as a theme in Mishima’s work, so while not surprising, I am genuinely looking forward to reading his other works both translated and in the original Japanese if I have to.
An interesting story with a complicated writting style and an unreliable author. At times it can feel a bit unevenly paced and unbearably slow , but overall, in terms of queer classics, I can see why it has the status it does, even nowadays.
Incredible story in the hands of a mediocre translator.