It was surprisingly difficult to find some books by famous novelists at several local bookstores and by chance I stumbled across a small used bookstore that had the mother lode in terms of many great works I've been wanting to read from Mishima, Chekhov, Hemingway and more...all for a low price! For now I restricted myself to just three (3) books and one of them is by Yukio Mishima 'The Temple of Dawn'.
This is the 3rd book in his 4-part epic 'The Sea of Fertility' that was to be some of his last published works before his abrupt death. While I would have liked to start from the beginning, they only had this one available and it proved an excellent choice.
For starters, it's a mere 330 pages (much shorter than a Tolstoy colossus) and surprisingly the first few chapters read more like a Traveler's Guide as the main character Mr. Honda travels from Thailand to India and back to Japan with very detailed descriptions of the life & culture of each of these exotic locales. It renews my desire for more International traveling and those are all places on my bucket list.
'The Temple of Dawn' is full of some noteworthy quotables and in many ways also reads like Mishima's musings on various Philosophical & Religious concepts & ideas. In a sense he is attempting to craft his Point of View of the World. My particular favorites so far:
There is something surprisingly refreshing after you Finish reading a Novel. Maybe its a sense of accomplishment, even though its for something rather small. I found this book a fairly easy read and while he added quite a bit of Cultural & Historical context that required me to look it up via Wikipedia, it helped me better understand the overall point of the story.
The point? There isn't one really. All those years, the multiple of characters and events boiled down a somewhat meaningless conclusion that life exists and then it ends. Perhaps Anti-Climactic, but similar to what I've observed in other books.
In a sense, because there is no point, there is no reason for 'Meanness' or 'Cruelty' and absent any Religious or Philosophical reasoning, in a sense these sorts of negative actions just are exhaustive in terms of energy expended and rather the pursuit of things opposite seem naturally more inclined to human nature & understanding.
But what an intense feeling to be done. Now I want to read another book and continue this epic rush.
This is the 3rd book in his 4-part epic 'The Sea of Fertility' that was to be some of his last published works before his abrupt death. While I would have liked to start from the beginning, they only had this one available and it proved an excellent choice.
For starters, it's a mere 330 pages (much shorter than a Tolstoy colossus) and surprisingly the first few chapters read more like a Traveler's Guide as the main character Mr. Honda travels from Thailand to India and back to Japan with very detailed descriptions of the life & culture of each of these exotic locales. It renews my desire for more International traveling and those are all places on my bucket list.
'The Temple of Dawn' is full of some noteworthy quotables and in many ways also reads like Mishima's musings on various Philosophical & Religious concepts & ideas. In a sense he is attempting to craft his Point of View of the World. My particular favorites so far:
- The reason why young men patter on about the future so was simply that they didn't yet have it. Possessing by letting go of things was a secret of ownership unknown to youth. (Page 17-18).
- Actually, except for natural calamities, historical events occurred, no matter how unexpected they might seem, only after long maturation. (Page 20).
- Single-mindedness often gives rise to viciousness. (Page 34).
There is something surprisingly refreshing after you Finish reading a Novel. Maybe its a sense of accomplishment, even though its for something rather small. I found this book a fairly easy read and while he added quite a bit of Cultural & Historical context that required me to look it up via Wikipedia, it helped me better understand the overall point of the story.
The point? There isn't one really. All those years, the multiple of characters and events boiled down a somewhat meaningless conclusion that life exists and then it ends. Perhaps Anti-Climactic, but similar to what I've observed in other books.
In a sense, because there is no point, there is no reason for 'Meanness' or 'Cruelty' and absent any Religious or Philosophical reasoning, in a sense these sorts of negative actions just are exhaustive in terms of energy expended and rather the pursuit of things opposite seem naturally more inclined to human nature & understanding.
But what an intense feeling to be done. Now I want to read another book and continue this epic rush.
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