gareth_beniston 's review for:

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

4.5

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Haven't read a 'classic' for a while so it took me a while to settle into it. At first I was thrown by the archaic sexual politics and social attitudes but then you begin to realise the women are at the heart of it. It becomes unbearably sad and empathetic - full of the details of small lives, lived with courage and dignity. Komako is a brilliant character and the novel is infused with sublime beauty.