Journal Entry 1 by crimson-tide from Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, June 01, 2009

Journal Entry 2 by crimson-tide from Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, June 01, 2009

I'm afraid I just did not "get" this book as much as others obviously did. Yasunari Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, and this is purported to be his "masterpiece". I was disappointed. Perhaps it's because I don't have a very deep understanding of Japanese culture and language.

Snow Country has been described as haiku in prose. I understand that, and I appreciate haiku. It's also been described as "lyrically beautiful", "gorgeous and poetic". I did enjoy the changing of the seasons on the mountainside (although the descriptions themselves were pretty sparse and somewhat repetitive) and appreciate the juxtaposition of this and the changing relationship. Yes it is sad, and the feelings of isolation, melancholy and detachment come across well, but I found the characters to be too bland, the dialogue stilted and unrealistic, Komako's behaviour often overblown, and the relationship itself distant and hardly developed. I know, I'm meant to "fill in the brush strokes" and all that, but you've got to have something to go on! I didn't care less what happened to any of them.

I also thought the translation was not a particularly good one and perhaps that's the main problem. It's probably a lyrical masterpiece in Japanese. I found the English clunky and annoying. Bad syntax and often a poor choice of words which were far from lyrical.
 

Journal Entry 3 by crimson-tide at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Thursday, June 11, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (6/11/2009 UTC) at Balingup, Western Australia Australia

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CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posting off today from Balingup to Veganmedusa in New Zealand, as she is the June recipient for the Southern Cross Exchange on BookObsessed.

Sorry it's such an old and crappy copy Vegan. It's part I of II though, so I hope that makes up for it.
Keep your eye on your post box, as part II is coming separately! 

Journal Entry 4 by VeganMedusa from Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Monday, June 15, 2009

Ooh, how exciting. Thanks! 

Journal Entry 5 by VeganMedusa from Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Reading this, I knew that there were things that I was missing because of cultural differences. Komako seemed a bit odd and Shimamura too reserved to know him and I didn't quite understand the relationship between Yoko and Komako. But it's beautifully written, in a sparse kind of way. 

Journal Entry 6 by VeganMedusa at Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Thursday, October 07, 2010

This is on its way to Nepal for the Holiday Gift Giving thread. Wish I could go along with it. 

Journal Entry 7 by lils74 at Kathmandu, Bagmati Nepal on Sunday, October 24, 2010

This arrived today, safe and sound from far-off New Zealand (one of the places I'd like to visit in my life someday!) Thank you for sending it--a wishlist book! It looks interesting--I'll let you know what I think after I've read it. --It really made my day to find a package in my post box :) means so much to me, thank you for your generosity in sending it so far! 

Journal Entry 8 by lils74 at Kathmandu, Bagmati Nepal on Monday, September 19, 2011

When first got this, I started reading it, but didn't get very far. Yesterday I picked it up again, and finished it today.
I find it hard to describe this book. The writing is beautiful, deep, with strong imagery and nuance. A lot of the characters' history was, however, quite veiled or mysterious. Unless this was because of a cultural divide and therefore attitudes I'm not aware of, I think it was intentional. Unlike books where everything is spelled out in black and white, I felt it was like a mystery or sort of up to me what I want to read into it. Overall, it was like a small, beautiful glimpse of a world viewed through a prism or kaleidoscope; you only see a little and don't understand it all, but what you see is beautiful and stays with you.
Note: I would recommend reading the introduction AFTER you read the book. As with many classics, these translator's intro seem to give far too much away for my liking.