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jenmcmaynes 's review for:
Spring Snow
by Yukio Mishima
I have a complicated opinion of Spring Snow. I thought the first two-thirds were excellent; devastating portraits of people I didn’t necessarily like or relate to (especially Kiyoaki, who was so selfish he bordered on being a sociopath) but so finely written that I couldn’t help but being drawn in. And then Big Plot Things happen in the final third of the book, and it all started feeling like a story I’ve read a thousand times before (no spoilers, but it is the typical fall out from a love affair, with the woman of course bearing the brunt of the consequences). SNORE. The ending was a foregone conclusion and I was just counting time until it happened. That being said, Mishima hints at the progress of the series with frequent discussions of transmutation of the soul and karma, so I’m interested to see what he does with this. I also really enjoyed the setting (1912 Japan) and the details of imperial life. Finally, I wish Satoko had been depicted as more than just a beautiful woman and object of desire (but to be fair, I think this is how Kiyoaki sees her, not the author); hopefully as the series progresses, will see more of the interior lives of women? Anyway, I mostly enjoyed Spring Snow and will continue with the series at some point.