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alskn's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vhlm's review against another edition
Es kommt kein wirklicher roter Faden auf, und es passiert nichts. Nur der Protagonist wird einem zunehmen unsympatischer.
hrcwon's review against another edition
Read two good books by Mishima before, so I know he can be good, but... Booooring...
kainsbird's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“It seemed as though the temple had assumed the form of a single instant of time, and had visited me here in this park so that I might know how empty was my longing for life. In life, an instant that assumes the form of eternity will intoxicate us. But The Golden Temple knew full well that such an instant is insignificant compared with what happens when eternity assumes the form of an instant -as the temple itself had now done. It is as such times that the facts of beauty’s eternity can block our lives and poison our existences.”
jackf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
macy_kate's review against another edition
i forced myself to finish half of it before dropping it. maybe i just didnt understand it. main character wasnt very likable. storygraph claims i have read this book twice, i did not - one could even force me to - i just had to edit my review.
yasujirozu's review against another edition
4.0
My nature, which already tended to be dreamy, became all the more so, and thanks to the war, ordinary life receded even farther from me. For us boys, war was a dreamlike sort of experience lacking any real substance, something like an isolation ward in which one is cut off from the meaning of life.
The Temple of the Golden Pavillion is many things, but above all I was surprised how deeply and, as becomes Mishima, succinctly it described the war, not through presence but absence: for our narrator, Mizoguchi, the war is about staying behind, being pushed into a kind of surreal state of alternate existence.
Naturally, this sense of otherness and not belonging pervades the whole narrative on all levels, and it most certainly is Mishima’s forte, something Murakami has, as well. The anxiety of existential meaninglessness, the strong feeling of guilt, freedom through an act of violence, either literal or metaphorical, and life, ultimately, a never-ending, alternating movement of these dark themes.
Rewarding yet demanding, making one poor before making one abundantly rich.
17 November,
2014
rossini2020's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ironwagon1738's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0