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kqyreads 's review for:
The Woman in the Dunes
by Kōbō Abe
Overall, this was a compelling and mysterious read. Mysterious not as much due to an actual solvable mystery of the plot, but more in the air of the writing and the character’s thoughts and musings. I saw another review described it as claustrophobic — that feels exactly right.
The beginning was slightly slow, but it picks up quickly and is not a long book overall anyway. The ending was sad but not unexpected. It reads almost like a fable or perhaps a cautionary tale.
I give it 3.5 stars because it held my attention and had me on the edge of my seat at times. I wouldn’t say it’s 4 stars throughout though. More like some parts were 5 star worthy and others were only 2.5 star worthy, so it sort of averaged out.
Semi-side note: I don’t understand why so many authors find r*pe so appealing to add to their stories, though. This book, House of Spirits, etc. It’s like they think there’s something poetic or edgy about it, but I can’t help but think there are other ways of getting your meaning across. Maybe that’s what the character would do — it’s not like these characters are portrayed as good people necessarily — but the description of them feels icky anyway, maybe because it doesn’t feel negative enough. I won’t pretend it’s my place to tell people what to write, especially not writers who have been dead for decades like Kobo Abe, but if you don’t like reading about that kind of thing, avoid this book!
The beginning was slightly slow, but it picks up quickly and is not a long book overall anyway. The ending was sad but not unexpected. It reads almost like a fable or perhaps a cautionary tale.
I give it 3.5 stars because it held my attention and had me on the edge of my seat at times. I wouldn’t say it’s 4 stars throughout though. More like some parts were 5 star worthy and others were only 2.5 star worthy, so it sort of averaged out.
Semi-side note: I don’t understand why so many authors find r*pe so appealing to add to their stories, though. This book, House of Spirits, etc. It’s like they think there’s something poetic or edgy about it, but I can’t help but think there are other ways of getting your meaning across. Maybe that’s what the character would do — it’s not like these characters are portrayed as good people necessarily — but the description of them feels icky anyway, maybe because it doesn’t feel negative enough. I won’t pretend it’s my place to tell people what to write, especially not writers who have been dead for decades like Kobo Abe, but if you don’t like reading about that kind of thing, avoid this book!