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gerardoch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
hieronymusbotched's review against another edition
5.0
Outside of maybe Blood Meridian, this might be the most unnerving and soul-rending ending in all of literature.
jecarp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bibliolucinda's review against another edition
4.0
“History knew the truth. History was the most inhuman product of humanity. It scooped up the whole of human will and, like the goddess Kali in Calcutta, dripped blood from its mouth as it bit and crunched.”
A worthy conclusion to the series, and I'm thankful to have read it. After not enjoying The Sailor Who Fell, this tetralogy has me more intrigued to read even more of Mishima's work.
A worthy conclusion to the series, and I'm thankful to have read it. After not enjoying The Sailor Who Fell, this tetralogy has me more intrigued to read even more of Mishima's work.
vivectelvanni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
wickedcestus's review against another edition
3.0
If I had enjoyed the third book of this series, I probably would have waited to start the fourth. I might have wanted to savour it. As it is, I kind of just wanted to see how this absolutely baffling tetralogy would end.
This book follows in the same vein as the third book. Once again, major narrative events are swept through in mere sentences while pages and pages are spent describing inane objects. Last time, it was buildings. This time, it's boats. The boat sections are nowhere near as grating as the building sections were; however, the problem of summarizing the narrative becomes overwhelming. The second half of the plot absolutely flies by. Character intentions are introduced out of nowhere. It's a mess.
However, in the end, I do think it all came together this time in a way the third book did not. The highlights are two incredible scenes, both revolving around pivotal conversations between characters that bounce off of each other in strange ways. The final conversation at the end of the book seems to have clearly been planned from the very beginning of Book One. It is somewhat jarring to return to that world, since Books Three and Four have been so different, but it is satisfying nonetheless.
While all of the books have a sort of stumbling clumsiness to them, the first one felt like it probed the central point with the most depth. After that, the treatment seemed to become shallower and shallower until, in the end, disappearing into almost nothing at all.
This book follows in the same vein as the third book. Once again, major narrative events are swept through in mere sentences while pages and pages are spent describing inane objects. Last time, it was buildings. This time, it's boats. The boat sections are nowhere near as grating as the building sections were; however, the problem of summarizing the narrative becomes overwhelming. The second half of the plot absolutely flies by. Character intentions are introduced out of nowhere. It's a mess.
However, in the end, I do think it all came together this time in a way the third book did not. The highlights are two incredible scenes, both revolving around pivotal conversations between characters that bounce off of each other in strange ways. The final conversation at the end of the book seems to have clearly been planned from the very beginning of Book One. It is somewhat jarring to return to that world, since Books Three and Four have been so different, but it is satisfying nonetheless.
While all of the books have a sort of stumbling clumsiness to them, the first one felt like it probed the central point with the most depth. After that, the treatment seemed to become shallower and shallower until, in the end, disappearing into almost nothing at all.
zachf's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hades9stages's review against another edition
5.0
i literally can’t read this it’s extremely difficult, on par with (probably) books like clockwork orange, i have no idea really what’s going on at all or what i just read but the bits i did understand were very pretty. don’t ask me what it’s about. it’s also incredibly gay. like i can’t describe why, it just had me giggling, the way these men described each other. see the last quote in this review for my favourite gay quote. EDIT: UPDATE 20.3.23: JUST FOUND OUT MISHIMA WAS IN FACT GAY. THAT MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE NOW. OKAY. I can’t believe I didn’t just Google why Mishima writes so beautifully about men. As a Gay™ I thought I was being silly looking at his works from a slightly queer lens, but well, no, I was actually correct. Am I… smart?
”If I had spoken or moved from the smallest subconscious impulse, then the world would’ve been promptly destroyed. The world should be grateful for my awareness of myself. Awareness has nothing to be proud of but control.”
“He sometimes thought he was a hydrogen bomb equipped with consciousness. It was clear in any case that he was not a human being.”
“The newly tiled roofs were a violent blue. The voices of children were like splinters of glass. Tōru liked to look at people as at animals in a zoo. The bath was ready.”
“It was a body of firm coolness about it, and no suggestion of softness. The profile, aristocratic eyebrows and nose and lips; was well formed, as on a some-what worn silver coin; and their eyes with long lashes were beautiful. Honda could see what the boy was thinking... the insides of the boy were wholly and utterly those of Honda himself.”
”If I had spoken or moved from the smallest subconscious impulse, then the world would’ve been promptly destroyed. The world should be grateful for my awareness of myself. Awareness has nothing to be proud of but control.”
“He sometimes thought he was a hydrogen bomb equipped with consciousness. It was clear in any case that he was not a human being.”
“The newly tiled roofs were a violent blue. The voices of children were like splinters of glass. Tōru liked to look at people as at animals in a zoo. The bath was ready.”
“It was a body of firm coolness about it, and no suggestion of softness. The profile, aristocratic eyebrows and nose and lips; was well formed, as on a some-what worn silver coin; and their eyes with long lashes were beautiful. Honda could see what the boy was thinking... the insides of the boy were wholly and utterly those of Honda himself.”
slothroptightpants's review against another edition
3.0
Well, that was the tetralogy. It's hard to know what to say about it.
The first two books are some of the most beautiful literature I've ever read. And I think there's a reason for that. They're full of so much nostalgia and youth. There's a vigor that that does not deny itself and confidentially considers itself with what could only be called something like kindness or understanding.
Temple of the Dawn begins the arc of misery. There is so much resentment and bitterness that flows through those pages and much of it did not feel purposeful in a positive way. Much of it felt like projection from the narrator rather than truth. This bitterness flows into The Decay of the Angel and permeates it maybe to a greater degree. These characters are so malevolent, selfish, and nihilistic. I think DA manages to justify much of it by the end but it did not stop it from being a frustrated and miserable read. To be frank I felt like I was reading the ramblings of a narrator caught in a cyclical solipsism.
I don't know if I enjoyed this book or Temple of Dawn. But I'm not sure if I would change much about them. It could be said that much of this misery is necessary for the last 50 pages of DA to work. And fortunately they do work and are immensely satisfying. It's goose bumps raising shit. It harkens back to the youth of the story. Back to your youth. And connects it to death in a beautiful way.
I have a feeling I will reread this four book series when Im older. And I'm curious how I will react to it then.
The first two books are some of the most beautiful literature I've ever read. And I think there's a reason for that. They're full of so much nostalgia and youth. There's a vigor that that does not deny itself and confidentially considers itself with what could only be called something like kindness or understanding.
Temple of the Dawn begins the arc of misery. There is so much resentment and bitterness that flows through those pages and much of it did not feel purposeful in a positive way. Much of it felt like projection from the narrator rather than truth. This bitterness flows into The Decay of the Angel and permeates it maybe to a greater degree. These characters are so malevolent, selfish, and nihilistic. I think DA manages to justify much of it by the end but it did not stop it from being a frustrated and miserable read. To be frank I felt like I was reading the ramblings of a narrator caught in a cyclical solipsism.
I don't know if I enjoyed this book or Temple of Dawn. But I'm not sure if I would change much about them. It could be said that much of this misery is necessary for the last 50 pages of DA to work. And fortunately they do work and are immensely satisfying. It's goose bumps raising shit. It harkens back to the youth of the story. Back to your youth. And connects it to death in a beautiful way.
I have a feeling I will reread this four book series when Im older. And I'm curious how I will react to it then.
antony_monir's review against another edition
5.0
I am so sad that I’m done with the Sea of Fertility tetralogy. There is so much to be said about it and about this last entry. I will keep it short. The ending for this book is so devastating and it’s very hard to wrap my head around it, not because it’s confusing but because the thematic implications of it change how I see every other book in the series. I will say though that this book would have benefited from being longer as the pacing seems rushed at some points and the relationship between Tōru and Honda is not developed much. In the end this is an amazing conclusion to one of the greatest series of novels of the 20th century. Final rating: 4/5 (standalone) or 5/5 (as a conclusion to the series).