nabila99's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

i'm normally someone who loves lots of descriptions and setting detailed scenes - but this book had way, way too much of it. cut out the (very repetitive) descriptions of the sea, sky and ships and 1/3 of the book would be gone. also, i know the central theme is sailing / the sea / ships, but a totally excessive amount of nautical jargon is used, to the point that it's very frustrating and impossible to research every single one.

otherwise, it has some beautiful prose and a dark, intriguing story, but the above issues made it difficult to stay engaged and a bit of a slog at times. the character of fusako was also underdeveloped and underutilised.

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jadeuntitled's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-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

2.0

I would give anything to unread Chapter 5

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frida_funk's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

5.0


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epellicci's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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sandqueen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0


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l4r4777's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-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

3.0

There is a lot of substance in this book, and a lot of interesting points, but it wasn't really for me. Maybe I don't have the brain capacity to understand a lot of what this book is trying to say, or I just got bored. I can see how someone may love this book though!

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margaridamorgado's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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givemesomerope's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A story about a pretentious pre-pubescent boy and his fellow pretentious pre-pubescent friends. They read “Beyond Good and Evil” once and now believe they are the ultimate moral arbiters.

In all seriousness, this was an interesting book that covered multiple perspectives and offered great character insight into a nihilistic and angsty 13 year old boy, a grieving and newly fell in love widow, and a dispassionate sailor and their stories intertwist and build off of one another. I found it hard to get into the book at first, as barely anything was happening. After 30 pages, however, I began to enjoy the blend of incredible metaphors that fill up every page along with dialogue and followed with plot development. I mention again Mishima’s metaphors— they are everywhere and they are beautiful. He writes his descriptions in such intricate and raw detail, I could perfectly visualize the entire novel and it was all just jaw-dropping.

Overall, a thought provoking piece and I look forward to reading more of Yukio Mishima. This is my second book I’ve read by him and so far he hasn’t dissapointed 



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april_anya's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

An already dark and disturbing story made downright creepy when contextualised with Mishima's views and actions. Beautifully and lyrically descriptive language, if somewhat drawn-out at times. Overall, really interesting, but I sometimes felt the plot seemed slightly shallow?

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noahhare's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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