/lit/ - Literature

>>18574705
Not as good as pic but still soild.

Mommy issues.
Also I was thinking "Man, I'm glad kids can't be this fucked up irl", and then I found out about the Junko Furuta case. Life really is a plate of shit.

I liked The Frolic of Beasts more.

>>18574705
I sympythize with the sailor, he adventured around the globe but still didn't find what he was looking for, until he met a girl he loves, he found companionship and love more fulfilling than roaming the globe and fucking hookers, the kids had a point but he didn't deserve it.

>>18574705
Are you really trying to judge a Japanese author from translated prose?

>>18574705
Good, especially the ending. Like every mishima i've read, it's not great.
But man, niggas who b showering in park needta DIE.
>>18574735
Based pic

>>18575679
are you retarded? First, I mentioned that the problems could just be the fault of the translator, and second, the fact that it's translated doesn't stop you from identifying purple prose.

>>18575679
are you retarded? First, I mentioned that the problems could just be the fault of the translator, and second, the fact that it's translated doesn't always stop you from identifying purple prose.
There's like a metaphor or simile every 2 sentences and many times I don't think it flows together very well. Sometimes it's fine to say "the horn blew" instead of saying "the sound of the horn came through the window like a wave, foaming at the back wall where it crashed filling the room with a bitter taste of death"

>>18575697
>it's not great
The Sound of Waves is one of the best books I’ve ever read. There’s nothing exceedingly literary about it and it’s not a long book. It’s not a difficult book either. It could be assigned reading for Japanese high school, or even junior high school school. It’s just so evocative and well done as a story. Maybe it’s just me fanboying or something but I really felt like I was watching a movie while I read it.

>>18575697
>>18575729
Spring Snow + Runaway Horses are my top tier for mishima. Honestly the rest of the tetralogy was a let down.

>>18574705
Based, Mishima properly addresses marriage (settling down) as the death of glory and greatness.

>>18575716
It's never fine to do the former unless you're writing a children's book.

>>18575782
you will never be a writer

>>18574705
I've been unable to look at a kitten since without thinking about that one scene.

>>18575735
I mean to get to spring snow and the tetralogy next. He's certainly capable of greatness, i just haven't seen it yet.
>>18575729
I'll have to check that one out. I've read mask, temple, and sailor. I enjoyed all of them, but left feeling that they could be improved on bigtime.

>>18576033
you're just not gay & repressed enough to appreciate them

>>18575716
Maybe you were filtered because you're not used to heavy use of motifs. Mishima uses them more effectively than any other writer I've read (especially in Spring Snow).

>>18576058
read more then

>>18575697
Have you read temple of the gold pavilion?

>>18576033
The Sound Waves is really a bit different from the sort of ideas Mishima is known for but the writing and the story telling is the perfect illustration of what made him such a good writer. I will never stop recommending it. It’s one of my favorite books.

I’ve gotta say, I really lament the fact that this guy didn’t write any heroic genre fiction for how obsessed he was with heroism and masculinity. I’ve read a few of his books in English and Japanese now and they’re so good. The way he evokes certain imagery and makes me feel like I’m watching a movie is just so nice but it’s strange how his books give you this idea of really a very delicate and sensitive man despite his apparent obsessions. I want a hero epic or at least a background story or military drama with the characters from Patriotism. I wish we had gotten that.

>>18576093
>Read more
Pretty predictable response. How about some recommendations and examples? Sorry you were filtered...you should probably be more worried about how much you're reading.

Fuck those kids, the sailor sounded like a great guy

>>18574705
who do you think mishima was self inserting as more, the kids or the sailor?

>>18578027
>dismisses someones opinion as being filtered
>complains about predictable responses

>>18574705
yeah it was kind of a let down, everyone told me it was his best work but after finishing it i instantly knew i preferred Confessions of a Mask

>>18575627

>>18577005
>I’ve gotta say, I really lament the fact that this guy didn’t write any heroic genre fiction for how obsessed he was with heroism and masculinity.
Mishima expressed great reverence for Ashita no Joe. I truly dread the idea of Mishima being a shonenfag if he was alive today.

I enjoyed it but nowhere near as much as Sea of Fertility or The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Translated Japanese almost always feels awkward to me so I doubt I can make any comments as Mishima's ability in that area. It has been a while since I read the book but I did watch an English film adaptation of it relatively recently, it was extremely odd to see something so weirdly Japanese just nakedly translated into England.

Where should I go from here?

I thought Mishima was all about conveying a sense of physicality through his prose. The book was very striking whenever he leaned into his autism and talked about sex and death and so on (the cat thing and the ending is kino stood out), which carried the fluffier parts. I think I prefer it over Confessions of a mask because of that, although oddly enough Sun and steel is my favourite Mishima book so far despite it being the most introspective.

>>18574705
i thought nathan's translation flowed really well. and it's the only mishima i like since the protag isn't some angsty nutjob nor overly romantic don quixote about samurai ideals and emperor worship.

>>18580244
"the silent cry" or "seventeen" by kenzaburo oe.