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raulbime's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Macabre, resplendent, and unnerving. These are the descriptors that came to me after I finished reading this collection. Mishima's great strength of portraying inner conflict to the reader shines through these short stories (and play) as it does in his novels. Although I do think that the novel gives his work more space to become fully actualized. Which isn't to mean that he isn't a fantastic short story writer, just that Mishima's novels offer a lot more in terms of character and plot development. I thought the title story revolving around a family coping with a tragedy to be the best.
Death pervades the most enduring tales here. The short story "Patriotism" being the eeriest of them as it mirrors Mishima's death in many ways.The main character, like Mishima, commits suicide by seppuku. It made me look up the circumstances of Mishima's death for the first time. Which is strange because his suicide is one of the most sensationalized of literary deaths, and all five books I've read have had its mention on the book cover or author bio. Looking back I'm not surprised as I recall googling "seppuku" and never going further than the description of the ghastly operation. His death being a protest of American imperialism in post-war Japan by calling for a return of Japanese imperialism makes it all the more disturbing. While nothing in his speech before his death mentions subjugating other nations or people, given the man's intelligence and the level of insight into some of the human conditions, it's clear that the man must have known what a return to such a system of ultranationalism must have meant. He was, obviously, a very brilliant artist, but what a horrific discovery, which I should read more on before making more opinions than I already have.
Macabre, resplendent, and unnerving. These are the descriptors that came to me after I finished reading this collection. Mishima's great strength of portraying inner conflict to the reader shines through these short stories (and play) as it does in his novels. Although I do think that the novel gives his work more space to become fully actualized. Which isn't to mean that he isn't a fantastic short story writer, just that Mishima's novels offer a lot more in terms of character and plot development. I thought the title story revolving around a family coping with a tragedy to be the best.
Death pervades the most enduring tales here. The short story "Patriotism" being the eeriest of them as it mirrors Mishima's death in many ways.
urbino's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
amorrelles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
georgiarose888's review against another edition
4.0
Eerie and beautiful- 1st book read @ new job- ranking: Death in Midsummer, Dodoji, The Pearl, 7 Bridges, The Priest at Shiga Temple and His Love, Patriotism, Onnagata, Three Million Yen, Thermos Flasks (I notice that all my faves r the ones about/told through women dot dot dot)
melaniaevohe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ilaydesu's review against another edition
5.0
Okumam çok uzun sürdü ama öykülerden oluştuğu için zorluk çekmedim konu bütünlüğü açısından.
Her hikayeye tek tek bayıldığımı söyleyemem ama gereksiz olduğunu düşündüğüm hikaye yoktu. Ayrıca Mişima'nın dili beni gerçekten etkiledi. Öykülerde dili bu kadar etkileyiciylen Bereket Denizi gibi bir isme sahip serisini inanılmaz merak ediyorum şimdi. Umarım en kısa zamanda okuyabilirim.
Bunun dışında yazarın kişiliği-hayatı da çok ilgimi çekti. İntiharı ve savunduğu ideolojiye bağlılığı gibi nedenler sayesinde üst-düzey bir insan olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Her hikayeye tek tek bayıldığımı söyleyemem ama gereksiz olduğunu düşündüğüm hikaye yoktu. Ayrıca Mişima'nın dili beni gerçekten etkiledi. Öykülerde dili bu kadar etkileyiciylen Bereket Denizi gibi bir isme sahip serisini inanılmaz merak ediyorum şimdi. Umarım en kısa zamanda okuyabilirim.
Bunun dışında yazarın kişiliği-hayatı da çok ilgimi çekti. İntiharı ve savunduğu ideolojiye bağlılığı gibi nedenler sayesinde üst-düzey bir insan olduğunu düşünüyorum.
momomo's review against another edition
3.0
Collection of ten short stories mostly iterating on themes commonly found in Mishima‘s other works such as Japan’s cultural decline, beauty and death, suicide and gender performance.
Did not care much for the first half of the collection, but enjoyed everything after that quite a lot. The writing in “Patriotism” was especially impressive and the short film based on it is also quite good. Two other favorites are the mini-play “Dōjoji” and “The Pearl”, both of which are much more humorous than the rest of the collection. Also found the setting of Onnagata, taking place within a Noh-theatre troupe, very interesting.
Did not care much for the first half of the collection, but enjoyed everything after that quite a lot. The writing in “Patriotism” was especially impressive and the short film based on it is also quite good. Two other favorites are the mini-play “Dōjoji” and “The Pearl”, both of which are much more humorous than the rest of the collection. Also found the setting of Onnagata, taking place within a Noh-theatre troupe, very interesting.
frvncesco's review against another edition
4.0
I think so far this is the best Japanese authored prose I have read. A lot of these stories and the images they invoked really stuck with me. It’s not a five cause I didn’t like a couple. I definitely would re read the first 7 again. Overall it was fire tho.