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Aug 13, 2018
Karen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2018-chunky-book-challenge,
travel-the-world
What a beautiful novel, I am going to use a word that another reviewer used: melancholy. Set in Japan just prior and even during WWII (up to 1941). Tanizaki has given us a view of a declining aristocratic Osakan family in a traditional world that is rapidly changing. The four Makioka sisters are orphans, and the two older sisters, who are married are trying desperately to find a husband for the third sister. I have read several books by Japanese authors, and have enjoyed them all, but I think th
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This book is a long and slow, patient glimpse into the lives of one family and their connections. It has the studied, delicate and subtle feel that we expect of Japanese society of its era, although it also reminded me of an early English novel with its emphasis on the sisters finding suitable husbands. Each decision and movement is deliberated on for what seems weeks, and haste is frowned upon. The youngest sister causes consternation and constant worry as she embraces more modern behaviour, th
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This was a great look into the life of a traditional Japanese family in the few years before Japan officially entered World War II. Tanizaki's main theme is the classic conflict between the old customs and the modern. It is especially interesting to see how that was already beginning in earnest in the period right before a huge change was about to come to Japan. The main conflict centers around the youngest sister who has numerous affairs but cannot marry before the third sister, who at this poi
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An extraordinary novel. One of my top ten of all time. Complex, subtle, slow, everyday, deep, moving, one of the most phenomenal endings I have read (this one and Dante's Inferno and Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy).
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Apr 01, 2008
Stacey Matson
marked it as to-read
Dec 08, 2008
Daisy
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
quit-paused-maybe-unfinished,
japan
Mar 27, 2009
Ching-In
marked it as to-read
Feb 21, 2011
Isabel
marked it as to-read
Mar 26, 2011
Kat (A Journey In Reading)
marked it as to-read
Aug 28, 2012
Sam
marked it as to-read
Jul 08, 2013
Lara
marked it as never-finished
Dec 14, 2014
Fefa Lopes
marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2015
Carey
marked it as to-read
May 27, 2015
Anna
marked it as to-read
Jul 22, 2015
Nikki Morse
marked it as to-read
Apr 29, 2018
Idit
marked it as to-read
Oct 03, 2018
Kay
marked it as to-read
Aug 31, 2019
Annika
marked it as to-read
Jul 06, 2021
superawesomekt
marked it as bibliocurious
Jul 09, 2021
Tiffany
marked it as to-read
Sep 20, 2021
Kristen Iworsky
marked it as to-read
Apr 26, 2023
Enthu_Kidlets
marked it as to-read
Aug 23, 2024
AGB
marked it as to-read
