Anna's review
The Temple of Dawn
by Yukio Mishima
Anna's review
The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima
Anna's review
rating:
bookshelves:
contemporary-fiction
The third in a series of four, this book follows Shigetoshi Honda in middle age, first as he meets a Thai princess whom he believes is Kiyoaki/Isao’s reincarnation and later as he becomes obsessed with her. The earlier parts of the book were rather dull, more like a textbook describing various aspects of Buddhist beliefs about reincarnation than a novel. But then I almost wished the book had stayed dry, because reading about Honda’s unhappy middle age and unhealthy fascination and voyeurism was hardly pleasant. The ending was shocking and graphic. Although it had occasional moments of skillful language usage or interesting insights, on balance, I think it would have been better if I had not read this book.
