Finished reading Temple of Dawn
Sunday, August 16th, 2009 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
charmianFinished reading the Temple of Dawn: In response to a previous comment, yes, Mishima is weird, but weird is really a weak word for it. Yet on the other hand, in comparison to Tanizaki, and some of the less presentable parts of Kawabata, it isn't that weird. (The Japanese literary canon really seems full of strangeness. I wonder how this affects what's required reading?). This book isn't set continuously, but in two parts: In the first, Honda visits Thailand shortly before WWII breaks out, and meets the current reincarnation of Kiyoaki Matsugae, now a seven year old princess, the daughter of one of the Thai foreign students they met in book one. He then has mystical experiences in India (I really am wondering now if Mishima did indeed visit India), and studies Buddhist theories of denial of the atman (soul), while simultaneously looking up Western views of reincarnation. Fast forward to the post-war period: Honda has become incredibly rich by chance, and once again meets Princess Ying Chan, and becomes obsessed with her.
Notes mostly for myself, as I want to discuss the spoilery elements and you shouldn't read this book without having read the first two anyway. (It'll make no sense, and to be honest, it isn't as good as the first two).
Probably the reason why this isn't as good as the first two is that there's less plot to hold things together? Usually Honda is an observer figure, but in this novel he drives most of the action, since unlike the previous two incarnations, Ying Chan doesn't do much of anything interesting at all, except for secretly having a lesbian affair with Keiko (apologies to Mishima, but I was sort of internally lolling when Honda got his voyeurism on and was shocked to find out about them, and the main thing he notices was OMG she has those three moles like Kiyoaki PROVING that she is the reincarnation!!! not "....hot lesbian sex!!!!" Well, in the beginning I was wondering whether Honda was exactly straight, but anyway.)
Honda's obsession with Ying Chan is rather passive and leisurely, and we don't really understand Ying Chan at all, simply observer her: thus it is difficult to understand her actions, which in many cases, aren't that interesting at all. Possibly it's also that I'm not as interested in this historical period as I am in Taisho? Also, the explanations of Yuishiki (Consciousness-only) Buddhism are really quite deadly, and I'll admit my main reaction was 0_o 0_o 0_o. (Well, obviously it is a difficult contradiction to simultaneously disclaim the existence of the soul, and claim that reincarnation based on karma occurs, because if the soul doesn't exist, then what is reincarnated? The passages in the book really do read rather like this. Apologies for the philistinism again, but when reading this I was thinking "I'm not sure this concept is best explained in a novel. In a koan? Or like, in a video game? All of these Seeds, and in video games you can be reincarnated too")
Anyway, I do wish to finally read the Decay of the Angel now, to see what this all has been about.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milinda_Panha
http://www.holyebooks.org/budhism/sbe35/index.html
http://web-japan.org/museum/bud/myoo/about_my.html (refs to Kujaku Myoou are a motif in the book)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Peacocktokyo-natl-museum.jpg (The Peacock Wisdom Queen)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/product-reviews/4101050236/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending (Japanese amazon reviews)
Started reading Devices and Desires now. Pretty good so far, although I'm a bit puzzled by the author's statement that s/he doesn't have the chops to write a seven book series. When you're writing a trilogy w/ the books at around 700 or so pages, aren't you pretty close to writing seven normal books? Unless s/he means that they would write seven books at 700 pages. I have things to say about this interview, also... But shall wait till I finish the first book, at least.
Notes mostly for myself, as I want to discuss the spoilery elements and you shouldn't read this book without having read the first two anyway. (It'll make no sense, and to be honest, it isn't as good as the first two).
Probably the reason why this isn't as good as the first two is that there's less plot to hold things together? Usually Honda is an observer figure, but in this novel he drives most of the action, since unlike the previous two incarnations, Ying Chan doesn't do much of anything interesting at all, except for secretly having a lesbian affair with Keiko (apologies to Mishima, but I was sort of internally lolling when Honda got his voyeurism on and was shocked to find out about them, and the main thing he notices was OMG she has those three moles like Kiyoaki PROVING that she is the reincarnation!!! not "....hot lesbian sex!!!!" Well, in the beginning I was wondering whether Honda was exactly straight, but anyway.)
Honda's obsession with Ying Chan is rather passive and leisurely, and we don't really understand Ying Chan at all, simply observer her: thus it is difficult to understand her actions, which in many cases, aren't that interesting at all. Possibly it's also that I'm not as interested in this historical period as I am in Taisho? Also, the explanations of Yuishiki (Consciousness-only) Buddhism are really quite deadly, and I'll admit my main reaction was 0_o 0_o 0_o. (Well, obviously it is a difficult contradiction to simultaneously disclaim the existence of the soul, and claim that reincarnation based on karma occurs, because if the soul doesn't exist, then what is reincarnated? The passages in the book really do read rather like this. Apologies for the philistinism again, but when reading this I was thinking "I'm not sure this concept is best explained in a novel. In a koan? Or like, in a video game? All of these Seeds, and in video games you can be reincarnated too")
Anyway, I do wish to finally read the Decay of the Angel now, to see what this all has been about.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milinda_Panha
http://www.holyebooks.org/budhism/sbe35/index.html
http://web-japan.org/museum/bud/myoo/about_my.html (refs to Kujaku Myoou are a motif in the book)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Peacocktokyo-natl-museum.jpg (The Peacock Wisdom Queen)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/product-reviews/4101050236/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending (Japanese amazon reviews)
Started reading Devices and Desires now. Pretty good so far, although I'm a bit puzzled by the author's statement that s/he doesn't have the chops to write a seven book series. When you're writing a trilogy w/ the books at around 700 or so pages, aren't you pretty close to writing seven normal books? Unless s/he means that they would write seven books at 700 pages. I have things to say about this interview, also... But shall wait till I finish the first book, at least.
