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skellington1337's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
megs_k's review against another edition
2.0
The one who really looks is the one who wins. ~ Yukio Mishima
bonsai_leaf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
If you can, maybe read him in english as this translation was not the best in my opinion, though I still enjoyed it. I do not envy the translator given the challenges of translating Japanese into Spanish, but some of the word/phrasing choices were a bit confusing and could have been reworked for the sake of readability.
pachypedia's review against another edition
3.0
Este es un libro complicado de leer, pero, Al haber sido escrito tan cerca del suceso, y habiendo entrevistado el escritor al autor del incendio, merece la pena su lectura.
mc_j_ho's review against another edition
4.0
An intense work... it is hard for me to say more at this stage.
booksnpunks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
scheu's review against another edition
5.0
The best thing I can say about a book is that I found it challenging. I couldn't breeze through this novel. It's a careful study of an unbalanced soul who chooses to destroy the most beautiful thing in his life in order to save it. Mishima makes the object of his desire, the temple itself, virtually its own character. He also delves deep into the protagonist's psyche - so deep that it's hard for me to describe exactly what he was going through.
maudyy's review
4.0
I randomly picked this book at a cafe I visited yesterday and was instantly attracted to the synopsis: “Yukio Mishima creates a haunting and vivid portrait of a young man's obsession with idealized beauty and his destructive quest to possess it fully.” I knew it would be philosophical, as works of literature often are when they feature troubled main characters, so, of course, I gave it a read. This novel tells the story of a young acolyte named Mizoguchi, who becomes increasingly obsessed with the beauty of the Golden Pavilion and experiences profound internal conflicts.
Mizoguchi physical disability and the way he perceives himself as an outsider contribute significantly to his (super) toxic mindset and insecurities. His obsession with the Golden Pavilion can be seen as a way for him to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness. This internal struggle and the resulting morally questionable actions make him a complex and deeply flawed character. Yukio Mishima skillfully explores the psychological and emotional complexities of Mizoguchi’s character, making him a compelling but, I can say, a complicatedly tormented figure in the novel. The protagonist’s thoughts are very very raw and full of questions, you will hardly stop thinking about how a person could bear to own this kind of mindset and live his life. TBH I don't really see Mizoguchi as a protagonist but more like an 'anti-hero', or sometimes even an antagonist. It’s a great philosophical book when you start to mix these things, the point of diving into the human mind is to know that no one is black and white, it’s always somewhere in between. And that 'somewhere' is never exact. However, I hate the way the female characters are portrayed in this novel. Well I’ve been quite alerted that most Japanese male author also does this, I feel like they are sexualized and objectified for the sake of ‘the main character's psychological exploration’ or ‘the main character's medium for development’. If there hadn’t been any female objectification, I would have rated this book 5. This is because the book is a philosophical work that will drown the reader in moral dilemmas and psychological exploration, my cup of tea.
Mizoguchi physical disability and the way he perceives himself as an outsider contribute significantly to his (super) toxic mindset and insecurities. His obsession with the Golden Pavilion can be seen as a way for him to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness. This internal struggle and the resulting morally questionable actions make him a complex and deeply flawed character. Yukio Mishima skillfully explores the psychological and emotional complexities of Mizoguchi’s character, making him a compelling but, I can say, a complicatedly tormented figure in the novel. The protagonist’s thoughts are very very raw and full of questions, you will hardly stop thinking about how a person could bear to own this kind of mindset and live his life. TBH I don't really see Mizoguchi as a protagonist but more like an 'anti-hero', or sometimes even an antagonist. It’s a great philosophical book when you start to mix these things, the point of diving into the human mind is to know that no one is black and white, it’s always somewhere in between. And that 'somewhere' is never exact. However, I hate the way the female characters are portrayed in this novel. Well I’ve been quite alerted that most Japanese male author also does this, I feel like they are sexualized and objectified for the sake of ‘the main character's psychological exploration’ or ‘the main character's medium for development’. If there hadn’t been any female objectification, I would have rated this book 5. This is because the book is a philosophical work that will drown the reader in moral dilemmas and psychological exploration, my cup of tea.