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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Smart and well written. The Kafka comparisons aren't wrong. That said, I've never been a huge fan of Kafka, and I feel much the same way about WOMAN IN THE DUNES. I find the ideas Abe explores in it interesting enough, and he executes on them well, but as in many novels of ideas, the characters in this one fall a bit flat.
Alright I suppose, really nicely written but just didn't really have enough to sustain itself. Sort of a mood piece but a bit too ambiguous to pull it off in a satisfying way, which is a shame as The Ruined Map was great! Some pretty gross misogynistic stuff in there too. The first hundred pages are strong but the rest of it was a bit of a chore.
اگه بگم لذت بردم دروغ گفته م، و اگه بگم جذبم نكرد باز هم دروغ گفته م...
Jesus was this boring and pointless. It's classed as a 'horror' but the only horrifying thing about it is how much of a slog it is.
I understand the importance of literary and difficult books that deserve analysis to truly understand what they are trying to say, and I can appreciate that Japanese-English translations sometimes lose their charm, but I feel like all books should have *some* merit.
I thought the concept was really intriguing and ominous, and then it just turned into an incredibly bleak and boring story of a man trying to escape a crusty sand house after he's basically married off to the woman in the dunes. Honestly he's a gross, sleazy man and I hope he stays in that pit.
Our characters are the one-dimensional and confusing woman, and the horrible man who's head we have the displeasure of occupying as he thinks nasty thoughts about his companion and philosophizes about r*pe.
I get that this was meant to reflect the monotony of life blah blah, but it was practically unreadable. The only good thing about this is how short it is (still too long).
I understand the importance of literary and difficult books that deserve analysis to truly understand what they are trying to say, and I can appreciate that Japanese-English translations sometimes lose their charm, but I feel like all books should have *some* merit.
I thought the concept was really intriguing and ominous, and then it just turned into an incredibly bleak and boring story of a man trying to escape a crusty sand house after he's basically married off to the woman in the dunes. Honestly he's a gross, sleazy man and I hope he stays in that pit.
Our characters are the one-dimensional and confusing woman, and the horrible man who's head we have the displeasure of occupying as he thinks nasty thoughts about his companion and philosophizes about r*pe.
I get that this was meant to reflect the monotony of life blah blah, but it was practically unreadable. The only good thing about this is how short it is (still too long).
To me, this book was incredibly effective at combining an engaging plot with thought provoking narration. The blend of suspense and a stream of consciousness type narration created a reading experience that was really unique. This results in a page turner and a head scratcher all in one (in a good way). This was my introduction to Abe but will certainly not be the last of his books I read.
I did not like this book at all. The main character is a terrible person and I could not help but feel like I wished for a worse fate than he got. The book came across as weirdly obsessed with sex. And not even consensual sex, but sex as a means of domination. The man is constantly thinking about it and thinks of the woman as an object with which he can unleash his sexual rage. It was pretty uncomfortable.
This book is exactly what I was promised. It's a mix of Kafka with a little bit of Camus added in. It's an interesting meditation on organic things and their places, on evolution and the struggles therein. I really enjoyed it. It was my first exposure to this author but it was an impressive and I will be reading more.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes