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javinki_'s review
2.0
Thank you to The Ryan Kennedy Foundation for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (who am I kidding, no one's asked for any of my thoughts on any of these books, but hey! I enjoy writing them! So DEAL WITH IT!)
'Snow Country'? Pretty good! I was more interested in what was being said by the description than by the characters, which isn't often the case with prose - it's just a shame that all the gorgeous and subtle and striking natural imagery was let down by the personality-less Shimamura and unconvincingly erratic Komaka. I felt like the more I learned about them the less I actually knew and was invested in them, but the language itself was beautiful.
'Thousand Cranes', on the other hand, felt much flimsier, almost soap-opera-esque in its caricatures and mundane melodrama. I might have enjoyed it more if I'd known more about the Japanese tea ceremony going into it as lots of time is devoted to the symbolism of different bowls and utensils. I also wasn't convinced by any of the relationships - maybe something was lost in translation. I don't know.
Across both novellas, the men were dull and the women, two-dimensional - which makes me wonder what the purpose of all the rich imagery and narrative jumps and various dramatic episodes were. A little unconvinced, to be honest. I still want to read 'Beauty and Sadness', though!
'Snow Country'? Pretty good! I was more interested in what was being said by the description than by the characters, which isn't often the case with prose - it's just a shame that all the gorgeous and subtle and striking natural imagery was let down by the personality-less Shimamura and unconvincingly erratic Komaka. I felt like the more I learned about them the less I actually knew and was invested in them, but the language itself was beautiful.
'Thousand Cranes', on the other hand, felt much flimsier, almost soap-opera-esque in its caricatures and mundane melodrama. I might have enjoyed it more if I'd known more about the Japanese tea ceremony going into it as lots of time is devoted to the symbolism of different bowls and utensils. I also wasn't convinced by any of the relationships - maybe something was lost in translation. I don't know.
Across both novellas, the men were dull and the women, two-dimensional - which makes me wonder what the purpose of all the rich imagery and narrative jumps and various dramatic episodes were. A little unconvinced, to be honest. I still want to read 'Beauty and Sadness', though!
ajpellis1's review
4.0
I would recommend reading this book as slowly as possible. intersperse the chapters and your exclusive will be more enjoyable. I think i rushed it.
and_abigail's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don’t think I get it. i’m confuzzled
minhdodo's review
There're 2 main interest a geisha and a noble man. The man perspective is very centered- what he think, why he do the thing he do. The third person narrator doesn't seem to have much understanding or sympathy to the geisha, only describe her actions. I only read 43 pages and I can't follow it to the detail. But stop reading because of such reason.
marblemenow's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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