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automne's review
emotional
informative
tense
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? Yes
3.5
natasha29singh's review
2.0
This book can rival [b:A Dark Night's Passing|1396965|A Dark Night's Passing|Naoya Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327516803l/1396965._SY75_.jpg|1387136] in terms of the sheer tediousness banal overdescription creates. Both books are well-developed ‘stories’ – but while [b:A Dark Night's Passing|1396965|A Dark Night's Passing|Naoya Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327516803l/1396965._SY75_.jpg|1387136] feels the need to detail the protagonist’s uninteresting exploits, [b:A Certain Woman|3157304|A Certain Woman|Takeo Arishima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363120736l/3157304._SX50_.jpg|3189012] zooms in on each emotion our titular heroine feels. Coming to the substance of the story, Yoko is absolutely a woman written by a man – a huge letdown. Her ‘magnetism’ and never-ending petty rivalries with any and all women she encounters are the tired figments of male authors’ imaginations. In general, her selfishness, myopia, and general assholery makes her a deeply unlikable person, and not a ‘modern woman’ as lovers of this book love to pedagogize. Neither can I ignore how the story mounts and ultimately culminates in a karmic ‘comeuppance.’ I could go on, but all I’ll say is that I’m glad this is over. With that said, the writing and translation are extremely good.
meeners's review
3.0
read some of this in japanese for my lit class, and liked it so much that i decided to read the rest of it on my own - in the english translation, since i was pressed for time. arishima's writing style is really interesting in that it reads like a 19th century english novel, almost. all in all an absorbing book, though a bit tedious towards the end.
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