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maurits's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I am probably not literate enough to understand the depth of talking about the mask. To me, the book reads like a severely mentally ill person in a hell of his own making. Reading it was like reading the ravings of a madman. It pretends to have logic in it, but there is none to be detected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Incest, Suicide, and Sexual content
sfletcher26's review against another edition
3.0
This will not go down as one of my favourite reads as it was, to be honest, very hard going. This is in part a stylistic thing (in that it's a very introspective piece) and that I couldn't really relate to the main protagonist.
That said there were a number of interesting elements to the story not the least of which is the question of what defines personality and therefore behaviour.
Not as good as The Woman in the Dunes but then few books are.
That said there were a number of interesting elements to the story not the least of which is the question of what defines personality and therefore behaviour.
Not as good as The Woman in the Dunes but then few books are.
bobsamson's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
jadejoosten's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
yongbene's review
4.0
horror by way of society. kōbō abe not only could foresee our impending reliance on faces, outlooks and image, but the horror and pain that would amount from all of it. i will not lie and say that some philosophical musings went over my head and some merely did nothing but perplex me even more than i already had been with abe's kafkaesque backdrops and visualisations, but they all amount to this jaw-dropping finale which could make even the most absent-minded person dwell on the philosophy of abe's strange world of minds and faces; blending in and out of society and penetrating the psychological with all of its might.
yuefei's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cantordustbunnies's review
4.0
A creepily neurotic book exploring themes such as physical appearance, personal identity, and social alienation. The narrator is disfigured both physically and psychologically and obsesses over the various masks people wear as he creates one for himself. It truly feels that you are reading something written by a dangerously mentally ill but extremely intelligent person. The author even forces the reader themselves to wear a mask. Something to me was a bit off though, maybe the plot wasn't tight enough or the translation didn't quite do it justice but there are moments of great literary beauty rivaling anything else I've read - the passage about Noh masks was especially memorable.
pr1y4's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ish i think
firstly if you liked No Longer Human and want to read something more challenging, this book is perfect for that - the metaphor of having a ‘mask’ is more literal in this book, but in many ways it follows the same essential plot and themes.
the concept of having a mask on and essentially hiding your true self has been a really prevalent theme in my life right now (which is why i read no longer human and this back to back) and it’s interesting to see that theme being portrayed in a more straightforward, almost scientific way. it provokes a lot of thought around what it means to have a ‘face’ in society and how there are certain ‘masks’ that are more acceptable than others. the treatment of the masked person has a third entity in the book is quite interesting.
although, i don’t necessarily like the way this book ends in that it’s a pessimistic ending where the narrator has used his exclusion from normal society to become a bitter vengeful person and essentially ends up SAing his wife and then berating and blaming her for it.
anyways yeah idk good book i guess
firstly if you liked No Longer Human and want to read something more challenging, this book is perfect for that - the metaphor of having a ‘mask’ is more literal in this book, but in many ways it follows the same essential plot and themes.
the concept of having a mask on and essentially hiding your true self has been a really prevalent theme in my life right now (which is why i read no longer human and this back to back) and it’s interesting to see that theme being portrayed in a more straightforward, almost scientific way. it provokes a lot of thought around what it means to have a ‘face’ in society and how there are certain ‘masks’ that are more acceptable than others. the treatment of the masked person has a third entity in the book is quite interesting.
although, i don’t necessarily like the way this book ends in that it’s a pessimistic ending where the narrator has used his exclusion from normal society to become a bitter vengeful person and essentially ends up SAing his wife and then berating and blaming her for it.
anyways yeah idk good book i guess