The Sound of Waves
by Yukio Mishima
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Sound of Waves.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 455)
As unabashedly delicious and pervy as one of those really good/bad Aussie teen soaps from the early ‘90s, but written by a literary and philosophical genius.
I love how Mishima just dashed off all these pulp novellas throughout his career, in between his masterworks, but didn’t accord them any less respect, attention, or craft. It’s like if Tolstoy, between "Anna Karenina" and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," decided to write steamy young adult fiction or gay soldier stor...more
I love how Mishima just dashed off all these pulp novellas throughout his career, in between his masterworks, but didn’t accord them any less respect, attention, or craft. It’s like if Tolstoy, between "Anna Karenina" and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," decided to write steamy young adult fiction or gay soldier stor...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
everyone, esp. fans of Murakami, people looking to try asian literature
instead of reading the classics that most people read during their junior year of high school, we read stuff like this. which, truth be told, is perfectly okay with me, because this is an absolutely stunning novel that I probably never would've read if it weren't for my international baccalaureate program.
the book centers around a young teen romance that seems destined to never be achieved - yes, a typical plot, but it is approached so atypically by Mishima. he writes in a style not too unli...more
the book centers around a young teen romance that seems destined to never be achieved - yes, a typical plot, but it is approached so atypically by Mishima. he writes in a style not too unli...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
What people mostly mostly seem to know about Japanese literary giant Yukio Mishima are the rather unpleasant things, culminating in his gruesome ritual suicide. This book seems like something that could hardly have been written by someone with such capacity for horror. It is a gentle book - sad and wonderous - about a love affair between two young people in a small village, one of whom is a pearl diver. The writing is magnificent and the story is told with sympathy and gentleness. Definitely...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
This is a 1956 book by a Japanese author of a small fishing island, and a young poor fisherman and the girl of privilege that he falls for. The sensory descriptions are lovely of life on the island, and the kinesthetic intelligence of the young man, as he intuitively guides his live in tune with the sea, the fish and his heart. It did have the Asian cultural obedience message.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
I can't tell if this just reads as a dimebag novel, or if this actually ís a dimebag novel. It's got cute romantics, an angry father, a meddling rival and a lot of yearning. The way the island is made to seem so alive lifts this up for sure, but I'm honestly not sure how I would have felt about this book if it didn't have Mishima's name on it. Cute though!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
A timeless story of first love as a poor, young fisherman falls for the daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. Similiar to After the Banquet as the plot may not be particularly engrossing but not only are the characters deftly portrayed but easy to fall in love with.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
Tender love story of two kids living in a small fishing village in postwar Japan. As their relationship grows, we see the reliance, reverence, and sensitivity of the island community to its natural environment. Heartwarming but not in an Oprah's Book Club kinda way.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
those who are in love with 'love.'
Young romantic love seen through the eyes of Japan's most intense novelist. This novel is sort of like a breath mint before plowing through Mishima's other works. Not my favorite Mishima, but nevertheless it's Mishima and that alone he never fails!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
Post-war Japan, small fishing village, love story. Beyond the story itself, it is interesting to see how an isolated culture like this village is changed over time by not only the war but by new technology and a new generation.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
sweet little love story set in a small fishing village in Japan. kinda forgettable compared to some of his other books, but interesting as a peek into a completely different culture and time.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
Murikami fans, for a vastly diffferent Japanese perspective
Beautiful, lyrical, filled with the certainty and weight of youth grown quickly but not yet fully. Seemed much more optimistic than how other Mishima novels have been described to me.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1999
long time ago... sort of a very simple, straightforward romantic tale of love overcoming obstacles. not what i expected from mishima. could have been a bad translation.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1986
this anomaly is the only mishima i liked when i was trying to read several of his novels. it's very different from, say, the temple of the golden pavilion.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
Simple life is really not simple at all. Actually there is no such thing as a simple life. There is just a beautiful life told in a simple way.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
the story was simple and strait forward. it was a love story with no surprises. i think maybe that was the point.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
Sweet, sweet, painfully sweet. And virile. Intermittently homoerotic, too -- I don't think this is a stretch.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
A fresh look at the age old romantic tale from who may very well be Japans greatest contemporary writer.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I was pretty disappointed with this book. I really liked the first book I read by him.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
A small, elegant love story, although maybe not as affecting as it could be.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Beautiful story, except no one commits seppuku at the end. What gives?
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
