holy crap, Tim. thanks for picking this book. I loved it from start to finish. I highlighted half the thing.

it's very subtle in some ways--interpersonal relationships and very deliberate in others. it made me think of haiku's and do some research on form of haiku. this book felt like one giant haiku to me. the juxtaposition of two starkly contrasting images. etsuko and her husband, the hospital. etsuko and yakichi, rural living. miyo and saburo, simple animals. the city and the country. everything was a contrast to something.

I loved all the characters. I loved the dialogue and the descriptions. I loved the culture. I just loved it. etsuko is one twisted bitch and saburo was a masterfully written character. goddamn.
spoiler alert...
and. on top of all that. the ending surprised me. after the "gleaming tracks", I was sure etsuko was going to throw herself in front of the Osaka express train. but that would not have made sense for her. the ending was better Mishima's way.