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“Talks about the female role in japanese family and culture!!!! Really good!!!”
Jamille R wrote this review Wednesday, November 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“too slow. characters failed to develop. what's with the ending? the only reason I finished it was because I didn't to waste it. sayang naman.”
mlizaa wrote this review Sunday, October 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“If 2008 was a mixture of good reading, horrendous reading, abandoned reading, and some brilliant stay-in-your-mind reading, then I wonder what 2009 would bring. If the first book of the year is any indication, then I would settle for more of such classics. The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki is one of the finest books you could ever read.
bunnychip9 wrote this review Saturday, September 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Tracing the lives of four sisters - Tsuruko, Sachiko, Yukiko, and Taeko (known as"Koi-san"). Tsuruko and Sachiko. Immediately, I was drawn into their world. Oh! How can I forget Teinosuke, Sachiko's husband? The main concern of the Makioka family is to get Yukiko married. But that would be simplifying it too much. There is more to this complex novel about relationships, intimacy and sentiment than just Yukiko's marriage. I loved it more perhaps because I could relate to almost every page of the book, and found myself being amazed at the similarities between Indian and Japanese culture.
The setting is predominantly pre-World War II Japan. But the War is mainly a backdrop - it is the life of the four sisters, and the small moments that light their lives that light our own reading. Yukiko's mysterious spot over her eye, Teinosuke writing a poem to Sachiko, Taeko's doll-making, Sachiko's love for cherry blossoms - almost three weeks after I read the Makioka Sisters, these moments remain still.”
“have read this book several times and love it! a moving view of Japanese life pre-war that is surpisingly modern and relevant to today's world”
Jackie D wrote this review Thursday, May 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a great companion novel to Memoirs of a Geisha. I really liked this one although a friend of mine just couldn't get into it.”
Tigslw wrote this review Tuesday, February 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Also made into a beautiful film by Ichikawa, this is a delicate, almost impressionist 'picture' of the Japan that existed before the catastrophe of WW2, as it slowly evaporates in the face of more modern values and sensibilities. Following the lives of four aristocratic sisters from day to day, as if viewing an unfolding screen, everything they represent seems as though fading away, as in a sepia photograph, or a Japanese print left in the sunlight for too long. ”
Stephen D wrote this review Thursday, January 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Probably Tanizaki's only "mainstream" novel.”
Jennifer V wrote this review Wednesday, January 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Japanese Pride and Prejudice? hardly, although I have heard the Makioka Sisters described this way. But there are a number of sisters and marriage is a concern. And sometimes, there is a humor that is almost reminiscent of Austen. But this book doesn't have to be the Japanese anything to be a wonderful read. It is a classic that stands all on its own. Even though there are some cultural differences that make for a rough translation for the modern reader, this was actually pretty easy to read. And you will find yourself very caught up in the story.”
Theophania wrote this review Tuesday, July 24 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
