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8797999's review
2.0
Having finished this book I have to say it isn’t a favourite. I found it a chore to get through and had a difficult time to get into it. Not a book I would be re-reading in a hurry.
The House of Sleeping Beauties
I found it a bit creepy in the perverted sense, I didn’t enjoy this at all although I can empathise with the narrator and how his past encounters were rekindled by the beauties and the feelings he gets from their memory. I enjoyed this passages but I just couldn’t get over the creepiness of his feelings when with the beauties. It felt like a drag and repetitive.
One Arm
A weird read, luckily very short.
Of Birds and Beasts
Sadly another story I didn’t enjoy or care much for. Short and sweet thankfully!
It is a shame really because this was a book I was really looking forward to reading. The title story was said to be an inspiration for Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Memories of My Melancholy Whores, a book I read and enjoyed a few years ago. Having enjoyed that I expected to enjoy this too, alas not the case. I think I will give the book a re-read.
The House of Sleeping Beauties
I found it a bit creepy in the perverted sense, I didn’t enjoy this at all although I can empathise with the narrator and how his past encounters were rekindled by the beauties and the feelings he gets from their memory. I enjoyed this passages but I just couldn’t get over the creepiness of his feelings when with the beauties. It felt like a drag and repetitive.
One Arm
A weird read, luckily very short.
Of Birds and Beasts
Sadly another story I didn’t enjoy or care much for. Short and sweet thankfully!
It is a shame really because this was a book I was really looking forward to reading. The title story was said to be an inspiration for Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Memories of My Melancholy Whores, a book I read and enjoyed a few years ago. Having enjoyed that I expected to enjoy this too, alas not the case. I think I will give the book a re-read.
versmonesprit's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This small collection of three stories was my first ever Yasunari Kawabata, and I’m saddened to say had I not already stocked on a lot of his books, I wouldn’t have gone out looking for more. But this review is difficult for another reason: when all is said and done, my mostly negative experience comes down less to concrete issues with the stories, and more to the overall feelings of quasi-boredom or annoyance they evoked in me. Granted, I read this at a very chemically low point in my life, so who knows if the effect would have been different under better circumstances!
The first of the bunch, House of the Sleeping Beauties, keenly creates senses, a sharp quiet, and an ethereal, liminal setting. With a stream of consciousness approach, as well as much rumination on memory, violence, and the contrast between female purity and male ugliness, it feels like nothing could ruin this story. Yet repetition tries and achieves that, and the description of the girls’ bodies becomes tiring fast. Maybe for that reason, maybe as a fault of the writing, the ending lacks the emotional impact it should’ve had.
One Arm is a much, much worse offender in the boredom department. I could not find anything to like about this, to be honest. Other than it continuing the themes of sleep and violence against women, I can’t see a reason for it to be included in a collection of Kawabata’s works.
For me the best of the bunch was the last story, Of Birds and Beasts. The cruelty against animals did make it a difficult read, but it was the strongest when it comes to impact. The story’s preoccupation with death and violence was all too apparent; and the theme of sleep does crop up.
I’d say these are overall to be read for their ruminations, like a philosophical work, rather than as fiction.
The first of the bunch, House of the Sleeping Beauties, keenly creates senses, a sharp quiet, and an ethereal, liminal setting. With a stream of consciousness approach, as well as much rumination on memory, violence, and the contrast between female purity and male ugliness, it feels like nothing could ruin this story. Yet repetition tries and achieves that, and the description of the girls’ bodies becomes tiring fast. Maybe for that reason, maybe as a fault of the writing, the ending lacks the emotional impact it should’ve had.
One Arm is a much, much worse offender in the boredom department. I could not find anything to like about this, to be honest. Other than it continuing the themes of sleep and violence against women, I can’t see a reason for it to be included in a collection of Kawabata’s works.
For me the best of the bunch was the last story, Of Birds and Beasts. The cruelty against animals did make it a difficult read, but it was the strongest when it comes to impact. The story’s preoccupation with death and violence was all too apparent; and the theme of sleep does crop up.
I’d say these are overall to be read for their ruminations, like a philosophical work, rather than as fiction.
togawa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
vihren's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ulivo222's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.5
huijunhuis's review against another edition
ne znam da li je do zbog toga što je ovo prevod prevoda ili zato što sam ja glupa bilo jako teško da shvatim šta je pisac hteo reći. previše apstraktno za moj ukus i teško za razumevanje, nije mi leglo naročito jer su ove priče kako kaže na korici "erotska fantazija" u kojoj mogu da uživam jedino ukoliko razumem aluzije, metafore i likove. ovde to nažalost nije bio slučaj.
ovo je prvi put da zapravo čitam kavabatu, iako sam njegove knjige ranije mrcvarila po rukama i čitala po desetak strana pre nego što sam na kraju odustala, pa ne mogu da naročito sudim o njegovom stilu pisanja niti da ga okarakterišem kao pisca koji mi ne leži. moraću da pročitam bar jedno delo koje je prevedeno sa japanskog da bih to zaključila. takođe jako malo znam o kavabati kao piscu (osim da je nobelovac) i mislim da će mi biti jasnija opšta koncepcija njegovih dela ako malo pročitam nešto o njegovom životu i karijeri.
mislim da je jako tužno što je većina tanesijevih izdanja koje sam imala priliku da čitam zapravo prevod sa engleskog umesto originalnog japanskog, ali pošto sam siromašna nažalost njih čitam jer su ona dostupna u biblioteci.
ovo je prvi put da zapravo čitam kavabatu, iako sam njegove knjige ranije mrcvarila po rukama i čitala po desetak strana pre nego što sam na kraju odustala, pa ne mogu da naročito sudim o njegovom stilu pisanja niti da ga okarakterišem kao pisca koji mi ne leži. moraću da pročitam bar jedno delo koje je prevedeno sa japanskog da bih to zaključila. takođe jako malo znam o kavabati kao piscu (osim da je nobelovac) i mislim da će mi biti jasnija opšta koncepcija njegovih dela ako malo pročitam nešto o njegovom životu i karijeri.
mislim da je jako tužno što je većina tanesijevih izdanja koje sam imala priliku da čitam zapravo prevod sa engleskog umesto originalnog japanskog, ali pošto sam siromašna nažalost njih čitam jer su ona dostupna u biblioteci.
3vfzteu_vdhk33s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.25