Reviews

The Temple Of The Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima

macy_kate's review against another edition

3.0

i forced myself to finish half of it before dropping it. maybe i just didnt understand it. main character wasnt very likable.

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

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

kassandrik's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

doesitcomeinabook's review against another edition

2.0

Este livro não é para mim, mas isso não quer dizer que não veja o interesse.
Quem gostou, por exemplo, de The Catcher in the Rye, vai adorar este livro! Infelizmente, eu não gostei.
O autor tem um objetivo bastante definido e, na realidade, atinge-o sem qualquer dúvida.
Do que eu não gostei foi da maneira para lá chegar.
O narrador, uma personagem com quem é impossível simpatizar (o que não é uma coisa má por si só), anda às voltas o livro todo, a repetir pensamentos que teve nas primeiras páginas, e a aproximar-se lentamente do ponto de rutura. Já agora, vamos falar deste ponto de rutura, o ato de libertadora violência, na minha mente, seria uma coisa que aconteceu precisamente no calor do momento, mas não. Mizoguchi tem uma ideia, faz um plano, testa limites e, finalmente, põe o plano em prática (quase que diria cientificamente). Tudo para no final ser cobarde suficiente para não tomar o último passo.
A história é baseada num evento real, o templo foi efetivamente queimado e o incendiário não teve coragem para se suicidar no final. Tudo o resto foi invenção do autor.
Dito isto, fiquei com curiosidade quanto aos outros trabalhos do autor e vou, com certeza, pegar noutro livro dele.

benevolentbark's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

zhengsterz's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book is a fictional story about an ostracized monk in training with a stutter developing pyromania and setting a temple on fire. The temple was his primary obsession from childhood and was his guiding force throughout his life. Kind of a literally me sort of main character where the main character is honestly kind of edgy and cringe.

kenzan18's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

4.0

aidonz's review against another edition

4.0

A classic incel story. Had to read this after seeing it in the movie Mishima (probably my favorite movie adaptation of a book ever). Its a dark and meandering story of a traumatized acolyte who is obsessed with the beauty of the Golden temple he serves. It's based on a true story! And Mishima basically gives a fictional narrative to the psychology of this acolyte that burned down the temple. It honestly feels a bit cliche at times because North American culture is so fixated on the psychology of the type of person to perform desecration or carry out mass violence that alot of the main characters thesis on "showing everyone that didn't understand him" or "proving the meaningless of it all" comes off as predictable. However, the poetry and themes explored in the book make it well worth it despite the predictable plot. The main character is a stutterer and Mishima uses this as a foundation for this "internal vs external experience" theme that I really loved. I recommend the book, or at the very least watch the 10 minute short film adaptation. It's on YouTube.