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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Mooi ingetogen verhaal over een echtpaar dat een sober leven leidt. Sosuke en Oyone zijn gelukkig met elkaar, ze hebben zich van de wereld afgezonderd. Je voelt dat daar iets achter schuilt en gaande het verhaal komt het verleden naar boven. Demonen uit het verleden zorgen opnieuw voor kwellingen.
De Japanse gewoontes, voedsel en cultuur zijn vreemd voor de Westerse lezer, maar problemen met familie en de liefde zijn dezelfde. Veel in het boek blijft onbesproken wat bijdraagt aan de ingetogen stijl.
De Japanse gewoontes, voedsel en cultuur zijn vreemd voor de Westerse lezer, maar problemen met familie en de liefde zijn dezelfde. Veel in het boek blijft onbesproken wat bijdraagt aan de ingetogen stijl.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As I expected based on the description and cover design which is different edition than the one in the thumbnail. It is about mundane domestic life in Japan.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“…from the moment of his birth, it was his fate to remain standing indefinitely outside the gate.”
The Gate is a novel about dissatisfaction with normality and mortality. Its main character, Sosuke, committed a horrible crime in his past that also led to him being with the woman whom he married. Years later, he is completely changed -- from a promising youth, he has rapidly become a childless, stifled, stagnant, and boring man. His wife, though traumatized by a series of miscarriages, is wholly devoted to him and vice versa. Their bond is unbreakably strong, yet they reinforce each other's indecisiveness and deferment by enabling each other to put things off or ignore problems. Sosuke is vaguely aware of this flaw (yet much more aware of how unexciting his life has become) and the years trickle by. Another element of the novel is that Sosuke's younger brother is relying on Sosuke to make good on a promise to help him pay for his room and board -- a tale too complicated for me to summarize -- but one in which Sosuke bungles over and over as he looks for ways to rationalize his indecision and poor communication that leads to his brother being in such dire straits.
I loved the comic elements of this novel and how frustratingly indolent Sosuke is. It makes the reader truly annoyed by him. Especially as it seems that all of the progress Sosuke makes is due to sheer luck. Yet, the tragedy within his backstory and the love he and his wife share are quite powerful and buoy the reader's opinion of him. I found myself questioning my own feelings: "are their flaws so bad? Is this kind of life so pitiable? They do share a powerful love and connection." Yet it is quite clear that the life they're living is so mundane and that time is meaninglessly slipping by for both of them. It is a cautionary tale for young married people in this sense, the reader may find himself saying "I hope my marriage never gets like this." The story is phenomenally well-executed by Soseki and perhaps could only be told this well by him or a writer of his caliber. It contains a pure, minimalistic, lyrical realist Japanese style.
I loved the comic elements of this novel and how frustratingly indolent Sosuke is. It makes the reader truly annoyed by him. Especially as it seems that all of the progress Sosuke makes is due to sheer luck. Yet, the tragedy within his backstory and the love he and his wife share are quite powerful and buoy the reader's opinion of him. I found myself questioning my own feelings: "are their flaws so bad? Is this kind of life so pitiable? They do share a powerful love and connection." Yet it is quite clear that the life they're living is so mundane and that time is meaninglessly slipping by for both of them. It is a cautionary tale for young married people in this sense, the reader may find himself saying "I hope my marriage never gets like this." The story is phenomenally well-executed by Soseki and perhaps could only be told this well by him or a writer of his caliber. It contains a pure, minimalistic, lyrical realist Japanese style.
The Gate ends with very little changed. Sosuke receives a raise at work -- pure luck once again -- and despite dabbling in religion for a paltry 10 days, he decides it's not for him and goes back home unchanged. He goes on this "religious retreat" to avoid an uncomfortable meeting with someone from his past, which works, and upon realizing this he goes back to his usual self. I interpreted the ending quite cyncially; people rarely change themselves for the better, and oftentimes people are rewarded and punished by chance (even in this case of Sosuke's brother, his conflict is resolved by a chance encounter).
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
One of my favorites. A great example of the beauty of Japanese prose. Has to be a huge influence on Murakami sans magic realism.
Brief, elegant, and as the introduction makes clear, open to lots of interpretation.