A review by nickdleblanc
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima
5.0
I have never quite read a book like this. And frankly, I'm not even sure if I liked it. I gave it 5 stars because it was a wholly unique story, and one I am almost certain to return to at some point in the future. But, oh boy, is it weird. A basic synopsis: An extremely troubled young man with clear problems with his inner life and thought patterns is horny for an old temple. I really don't even know what to say about this story beyond that. The emotional and psychological core of this book is so dense that in order for me to fully describe how it made me feel, I think I would have to re-write the book itself. That probably makes no sense at all, but I don't know how else to say it. Mishima clearly has a grasp on what it feels like to live inside of an insane person's head. I found myself becoming irritated toward the end, feeling the same anxiety and pressure that Mizoguchi did as he slowly moved toward destroying the temple and everything it symbolized for him. His interactions with other people are painful, his thought patterns are exhausting, and the intensity of Mizoguchi's experience (as expressed through his narrative) is completely overwhelming. I felt liberated when the book was over, free from Mizoguchi's inner world. I couldn't help but think when reading this that Paul Schrader must have drawn heavily from this book when developing Taxi Driver. They have very similar plots and the same sort of exhaustion and dread that comes with heavily psychological narratives. Not to mention, Schrader went on to adapt part of it for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. I can just as easily understand why someone would give this a 1 star review as a 5 star review. I just happened to be impressed by it and found myself thinking and talking about it frequently.
This book has put me so far into my own head that a part of me wants to delete this whole review because I feel like it was incoherent and poorly written and I don't even know why I feel that. So, I'll end quickly with this: In short, it's a weird book that definitely won't be for everyone, the translation gets a bit clunky but it sort of works to reinforce the strangeness of the narrator's inner life. Glad I read it, will probably read again, but not for a long time.
This book has put me so far into my own head that a part of me wants to delete this whole review because I feel like it was incoherent and poorly written and I don't even know why I feel that. So, I'll end quickly with this: In short, it's a weird book that definitely won't be for everyone, the translation gets a bit clunky but it sort of works to reinforce the strangeness of the narrator's inner life. Glad I read it, will probably read again, but not for a long time.