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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
dark
informative
slow-paced
I’m sure Mishima has an interesting idea here, but I didn’t get it’s full capacity. You need a certain mindset and life experience to really connect with him here, and I just lack that right now and may always lack it.
It wasn’t what I expected. Something akin to zen in the art of archery where archery is more of a metaphor for zen, I expected maintaining physical fitness to be a metaphor for something else. But all I interpreted from this was a mishmash of words not being able to adequately capture the purity of life, while muscles could? Or is death the only thing? I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll reread it in a decade or two and it will make sense then.
It wasn’t what I expected. Something akin to zen in the art of archery where archery is more of a metaphor for zen, I expected maintaining physical fitness to be a metaphor for something else. But all I interpreted from this was a mishmash of words not being able to adequately capture the purity of life, while muscles could? Or is death the only thing? I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll reread it in a decade or two and it will make sense then.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I sort of understand what he's trying to convey but he contradicts himself by writing prose so dense and abstract for something like so grounded like bodybuilding, and this seems to go against one of the main ideas of the book. Or maybe Mishima's internal world was really this complex and this was the only way he could authentically communicate it. Either way, I couldn't connect with this book. I have attempted to read it over 5 times, each time giving up for the same reasons. I was this patient with the book only because I love his other works so much.
Really poetic (and homoerotic) prose. I genuinely enjoyed a lot of this, but I'm also not ashamed to admit that a lot of it was difficult for me to grasp. I'm not sure if this work was translated or written in English, but he either has a very dense voice when it comes to writing in English, or his works are simply difficult to translate adequately. Regardless, definitely recommend this for anyone who lifts or has an interest in the intersection of exercise and spirituality.
Beautiful prose. No idea what the hell he's talking about.
Didn't make a good audiobook and didn't like the reader. Some pretty interesting ideas that I would like to return to in a physical format one day.
A relentless reiteration of the point that a sedentary lifestyle is bad, and to undo a society which craves the ability to be comfortable, one must fight against it by making their body as healthy as their mind. It is an oddly comforting creative essay when it comes to death, but ultimately it makes itself too hard to read, though in lockdown the point is more relevant than ever.
I expected a bit more about Steel, obviously a lot of it was caught up in parable and metaphor but I expected a bit more spice coming from Mr Mishima.
It was a lot of fun, these are the books I like, ramblings and aphorisms that have an overarching theme but no clear direction.
Took ages to read for a 70 or so page book but was worth it.
It was a lot of fun, these are the books I like, ramblings and aphorisms that have an overarching theme but no clear direction.
Took ages to read for a 70 or so page book but was worth it.