kingxsyed's review against another edition
4.0
Well written. Very pretty and descriptive prose but not overbearing. One of the few books where I dislike the main characters but the book itself was enjoyable. Bird's development was very satisfying and while it may appear to be abrupt, it was foreshadowed throughout the book due to the amount of guilt he felt, and what a man should even be. The themes of this book were well written and while I disliked the main characters, I sympathized with their situation.
homs_dream's review against another edition
5.0
دبل توصية (على قولة خلود)
وبالمناسبة أنا عرفت الرواية عن طريقها..
ولستُ نادماً أني تأخرتُ بالقراءة، لأن هذه المتعة والألم فيها يستحق هذا الانتظار.
ستنضم هذه الرواية إلى الروايات التي لا تًنسى، والمفضلة لديّ.
وبالمناسبة أنا عرفت الرواية عن طريقها..
ولستُ نادماً أني تأخرتُ بالقراءة، لأن هذه المتعة والألم فيها يستحق هذا الانتظار.
ستنضم هذه الرواية إلى الروايات التي لا تًنسى، والمفضلة لديّ.
readingthebacklist's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mi04's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jihyeeroy's review against another edition
1.0
‘A personal matter’ from Kenzaburō Ōe definitely suffers from being a product of its time. In fact, it is THE most incel-minded novel I have ever read and I hated every second of it. The only reason why I finished it was because a lot of reviews said that the novel's ending justified its success… But, I beg to differ. While the ending is certainly more progressive, the bulk of the story is still outrageously outdated. The novel seems to validate ableism, thoughts of violence against women, fantasy of r*pe, and homophobia.
I had thought that I would be reading a heartful auto-fiction of a man's journey to acceptance of his handicapped newborn son, but really it was a story of a man blaming women for his "misfortunate monster-child". The misogynistic discourse was particularly hurtful and shouldn't be perpetuated through literature. It went from dismissing the female orgasm to accusing women of hysteria and blaming "vaginas" for handicapped infants. Kenzaburō Ōe's narrator also shared gruesome thoughts on sexual intercourse that were never chastised with a final moral. On r*ping his girlfriend, he thinks:
"If he wanted to re-create in all its marvelous tension the sexual moment he had ruined that winter night, he would probably have no choice but to strangle the girl to death. The voice flapped out of the nest of desire inside him: Butcher her and f*ck the corpse !"
And
"If she turns me down, he thought irritably, as if to whip himself, I'll beat her unconscious and f*ck her then."
This discourse is not even seen as a marginal one, it is shared and validated as a normal thought for Japanese men in the 60's. I think that even for those years, the violence was excessive, and showed more the twisted and disgusting worldview of the author.
I will never read another novel or short story of this author, even if I did appreciate in the past his pacifist and anti-war discourse.
I had thought that I would be reading a heartful auto-fiction of a man's journey to acceptance of his handicapped newborn son, but really it was a story of a man blaming women for his "misfortunate monster-child". The misogynistic discourse was particularly hurtful and shouldn't be perpetuated through literature. It went from dismissing the female orgasm to accusing women of hysteria and blaming "vaginas" for handicapped infants. Kenzaburō Ōe's narrator also shared gruesome thoughts on sexual intercourse that were never chastised with a final moral. On r*ping his girlfriend, he thinks:
"If he wanted to re-create in all its marvelous tension the sexual moment he had ruined that winter night, he would probably have no choice but to strangle the girl to death. The voice flapped out of the nest of desire inside him: Butcher her and f*ck the corpse !"
And
"If she turns me down, he thought irritably, as if to whip himself, I'll beat her unconscious and f*ck her then."
This discourse is not even seen as a marginal one, it is shared and validated as a normal thought for Japanese men in the 60's. I think that even for those years, the violence was excessive, and showed more the twisted and disgusting worldview of the author.
I will never read another novel or short story of this author, even if I did appreciate in the past his pacifist and anti-war discourse.
patokoao's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
despicablecow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
very odd. certainly a product of its time. women are not written very dynamically
wahiba's review against another edition
3.0
I have a lot of empathy for what the protagonist has went through but very little for his coping mechanisms and his views on family structure.
my main issue is basically right there in the title, "A Personal Matter" when it's in the very least a family matter, A NUCLEAR family matter!
I do appreciate the honesty although it was brutally disgusting sometimes but it gets soul draining at times , knowing this book was written in 1964 makes me less angry/ more hopeful but somethings about human beings are just ARE and if never gets any easier to accept them.
my main issue is basically right there in the title, "A Personal Matter" when it's in the very least a family matter, A NUCLEAR family matter!
I do appreciate the honesty although it was brutally disgusting sometimes but it gets soul draining at times , knowing this book was written in 1964 makes me less angry/ more hopeful but somethings about human beings are just ARE and if never gets any easier to accept them.