tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613513185294461165.post3232709645454735057..comments2024-02-23T17:54:11.259+09:00Comments on Kumaboshi!: Alex's Book Club - The Rifles, Hell and Shame in the BloodAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01117350345065925747noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613513185294461165.post-90901586512955809552009-09-12T12:33:59.053+09:002009-09-12T12:33:59.053+09:00It is, yes. The book was published in 1961 and I w...It is, yes. The book was published in 1961 and I would imagine that attitude was even more prevalent then (today I would say it's a lot less so). In that respect the narration and tone just add to the book's beautiful evocation of a certain period of Japan.<br /><br />(There are also some nice points that I neglected to mention about how his dead and missing siblings might reflect badly on him in the eyes of others, as that was the attitude in Japan at the time; and other characters who have suffered "shameful" events are similarly worried about how others will judge them. However this element is never really explored as the main character always flees such confrontations and we never see them played out)<br /><br />But even though all of these points are true and accurate - it still annoyed the living fuck out of me. The protagonist isn't a bad guy, but it feels stupid to root for someone who isn't even rooting for himself.<br /><br />I'm sure I've read it suggested that there was a turning point during World War 2 where the Japanese mass conciousness stopped accepting uniformity and conformity and stoic acceptance of misfortune and ever since then they've been moving towards a more western state of mind. Not that that's necessarily a good thing.<br /><br />Anyway, let's say the book is a beautiful, subtle exploration of the Japanese psyche - the fucking dustjacket describes it as a love story!<br /><br />I didn't like it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01117350345065925747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613513185294461165.post-78016931840270033172009-09-12T00:20:58.841+09:002009-09-12T00:20:58.841+09:00"But it's not the world that is hammering..."But it's not the world that is hammering them down and denying them, as it seems to in some of Denis Johnson's incredibly tragic novels, but their own overwhelming sense of personal shame or belief that hardships must just be endured."<br /><br />Isn't that how people characterize the difference between western and Japanese society?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com