Reviews - Bekentenissen van een gemaskerde

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1.26k reviews for:

Bekentenissen van een gemaskerde

Yukio Mishima

3.87 AVERAGE

samuelh2020's review against another edition

3.75

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

timaxavier's review against another edition

3.0

dark 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: Yes

atin's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

cibersabandija's review against another edition

2.0

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

fedes_library's review against another edition

4.0

“I had formed the habit of treating those parts of my character that were in any way my responsibility to exhortations so wholesome and sensible as to be comical. As a part of my system of self-discipline, dating from childhood, I constantly told myself it would be better to die than become a lukewarm person, an unmanly person, a person who does not clearly know his likes and dislikes, a person who wants only to be loved without knowing how to love."

In this novel, the narrator traces back to his childhood his slow acceptance of what makes him different, and his inability to find himself in traditional Japanese society. What i found most interesting is the correlation between patriotism and homosexuality, as the narrator's attraction for masculine strength grows in parallel with a clear pride for his nation, the emperor and the army. I don't know if Mishima, arguably a Fascist - see [b:My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima|62810|My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima|Yukio Mishima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348518455l/62810._SX50_.jpg|2940224][b:My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima|62810|My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima|Yukio Mishima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348518455l/62810._SX50_.jpg|2940224], was homosexual, but I still felt that the narrator tried to correlate these two spheres.

Mishima uses the theme of the "mask" to convey the narrator's continuous conceal of his "invertness" - for instance, when he tries to force himself to love a woman in order to adapt to society's norms. I found the application of such themes similar to texts from different countries, such as [b:Six Characters in Search of an Author|741618|Six Characters in Search of an Author|Luigi Pirandello|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373814414l/741618._SY75_.jpg|15468851] and [b:Niebla|63137|Niebla |Miguel de Unamuno|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1222381863l/63137._SY75_.jpg|184454].

buesix's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

schwarzer_elch's review against another edition

4.0

Una historia bastante sincera y conmovedora que reflexiona sobre lo que significa ser uno mismo en una sociedad y una época que no están dispuestas a aceptar a quienes se salgan de los modelos establecidos. La narración, pausada y melancólica como muchos de los textos orientales que he leído, me cautivó y me ayudó a comprometerme con el personaje principal, quien se quita la máscara y se desnuda ante nosotros, sus lectores y lectoras. Además, a través de sus reflexiones y experiencias de vida, se puede conocer una perspectiva interesante del estilo de vida que llevaba un niño – adolescente – joven japonés durante las primeras décadas del siglo pasado.