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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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
not my favorite yoshimoto thus far but I did feel compelled to read it in one sitting until 5 in the morning which I'm sure counts for something
she really is an amazing writer though I can see her prose in my mind's eye like a movie and feel the emotions she's depicting like they're my own
anyway gonna go sleep now
she really is an amazing writer though I can see her prose in my mind's eye like a movie and feel the emotions she's depicting like they're my own
anyway gonna go sleep now
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was unsure how to rate N.P., because I might have given it a better rating if I had read it at another time, in the 90s or when I was a teenager. I think maybe to me something was lost in translation - the short, matter-of-fact sentences didn't really engage me in the story or the characters. And there was a mistranslation: the word stepbrother is used when in the context of the story we see that she means half brother, as they are related by blood and have the same father.
It's always a bit strange as well to see characters talk about uncomfortable topics (like incest and suicide in this book) as if they were nothing out of the ordinary. The main character even points out that
"The man's love for her as a daughter and as a woman are one and the same, and this powerful feeling expands to fill the whole universe. It's uplifting."
I'm not at all saying that people shouldn't write about incest, but I felt that the way it was written alienated me a bit. But it was really the last sentence of the book that made me think I really didn't get the point:
"Everything that had happened was shockingly beautiful, enough to make you crazy."
I didn't feel it.
It's always a bit strange as well to see characters talk about uncomfortable topics (like incest and suicide in this book) as if they were nothing out of the ordinary. The main character even points out that
"The man's love for her as a daughter and as a woman are one and the same, and this powerful feeling expands to fill the whole universe. It's uplifting."
I'm not at all saying that people shouldn't write about incest, but I felt that the way it was written alienated me a bit. But it was really the last sentence of the book that made me think I really didn't get the point:
"Everything that had happened was shockingly beautiful, enough to make you crazy."
I didn't feel it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
While reading NP, this line from a popular pop song, kept emerging in my mind. "You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness, like resignation to the end always the end."
I suppose to really gain an appreciation of the story you need to suspend conventional notions of morality and have a natural penchant for the melodramatic. The story can appear quite nonsensical and push readers to dismiss it as heretical and therefore of no real substance. Halfway through the book, I, myself, felt inclined to write it off as a product of artistic madness. There was a veil of incomprehension that forbade me to relate to the characters and I wondered more than once: what the hell am I reading right now?
The nonchalance with which the characters discussed the topics of suicide and incestuous relationships, hinted that they may be a little more than off-kilter. However towards the latter half of the book, it became increasingly clear that Sui and Otohiko were more than aware of the gravity of the taboo and were in fact slowly driven to the edge of a metaphorical cliff. But denial works in an odd fashion, it clouds judgment and sedates one's senses.
For me, the plot's key redeeming factor was that no character death actually materialized. The undercurrent of despair slowly dissolved and they emerged on the other side of the tunnel. I was worried that the entire work would be dedicated to glorifying suicide and topped off with a grandiose Romeo and Juliet-esque ending. I'm glad the author settled on a happier note.
Here's my favourite passage from the book:
"J'ai vu un être malmené par le sort, mettre pourtant en oeuvre toute son ingéniosité pour aller au bout de son amour."
I suppose to really gain an appreciation of the story you need to suspend conventional notions of morality and have a natural penchant for the melodramatic. The story can appear quite nonsensical and push readers to dismiss it as heretical and therefore of no real substance. Halfway through the book, I, myself, felt inclined to write it off as a product of artistic madness. There was a veil of incomprehension that forbade me to relate to the characters and I wondered more than once: what the hell am I reading right now?
The nonchalance with which the characters discussed the topics of suicide and incestuous relationships, hinted that they may be a little more than off-kilter. However towards the latter half of the book, it became increasingly clear that Sui and Otohiko were more than aware of the gravity of the taboo and were in fact slowly driven to the edge of a metaphorical cliff. But denial works in an odd fashion, it clouds judgment and sedates one's senses.
For me, the plot's key redeeming factor was that no character death actually materialized. The undercurrent of despair slowly dissolved and they emerged on the other side of the tunnel. I was worried that the entire work would be dedicated to glorifying suicide and topped off with a grandiose Romeo and Juliet-esque ending. I'm glad the author settled on a happier note.
Here's my favourite passage from the book:
"J'ai vu un être malmené par le sort, mettre pourtant en oeuvre toute son ingéniosité pour aller au bout de son amour."
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
It was beautiful. Everything that had happened was shockingly beautiful, enough to make you crazy.
reflective
medium-paced
“Miré a Otohiko. A través del velo de mis lágrimas las llamas que danzaban en la hoguera, la arena, el mar y el cielo. Todo penetró al mismo tiempo en mi mente, a una velocidad lacerante, de vértigo. Todo era hermoso, todo lo que había sucedido era violentamente bello, como la locura.”
me encantó la nota de la autora. me parece que habla un montón sobre lo mágico e inexplicable de las relaciones con los demás, las imágenes son bellísimas y la narración es como un río brilloso.
*libro prestado
me encantó la nota de la autora. me parece que habla un montón sobre lo mágico e inexplicable de las relaciones con los demás, las imágenes son bellísimas y la narración es como un río brilloso.
*libro prestado