Thirst for Love

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The wistful feeling I felt in the opening pages didn't last long. I realise that the scene of Etsuko shopping and getting caught in the rain resonated with a childhood memory, and I'm not sure if it was evoked or invoked by Mishima.
Mishima conjured an early sympathy for Etsuko, which he deliberately destroyed in much the same way Etsuko seeks to destroy anyone who's happiness she feels as an affront to her emotional pain and spiritual void. ⬇️

Bookwomble There's nobody, really, to like in the story. Mishima sees pettiness, hypocrisy, affectation, self-absorption, indifference and/or vindictiveness in each of his characters. Perhaps Miyo's situation excites pity, but little sympathy as she's presented as something of a cypher. The final few pages are shocking, if not unexpected. An interesting and engrossing, but not exactly enjoyable, 4⭐ 2y

BarbaraBB Fab review 2y

LeahBergen Great review! I have this waiting on my shelves. 2y

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Bookwomble @BarbaraBB Thank you 😊 2y

Bookwomble @LeahBergen Thank you. I think I've been a bit harsh with Etsuko - what she does and how she treats people is pretty awful, but then she's been treated awfully herself. What goes around... 🌀 She has an arc I think you'll find interesting 🙂 2y

The_Book_Ninja Agreed. Top review! 2y

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Bookwomble

Thirst for Love | Yukio Mishima

“One who pans for gold can't expect to dip up only gold, or even attempt to. He must blindly scoop the sand from the river bottom. He doesn't have the privilege of finding out in advance whether he will succeed. Maybe there's no gold in it, but maybe there is. Yet the one thing certain is that the person who doesn't pan for gold never gets any richer.”
#TheExaminedLife

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Bookwomble

Thirst for Love | Yukio Mishima

"The highest point at which human life and art meet is in the ordinary. To look down on the ordinary is to despise what you can't have."

The cover art of the Vintage Classics edition I have is based on this print, "Summer Kimono (In a Light Garment, a Woman from Naniwa)", by Hashiguchi Goyo.

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Bookwomble

Thirst for Love | Yukio Mishima

"That day Etsuko went to the Hankyu department store and bought two pairs of wool socks."

A commonplace opening line, but I felt captured by this book in the first couple of pages. I'm hoping Mishima keeps it on a similar tack.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

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LeahBergen

Thirst for Love | Yukio Mishima

Our two big charity book sales are back; the first ones since 2019. 👏👏

Here‘s a shot of some of today‘s finds (not shown: a few more Enid Blytons and some Ladybirds 🐞).

Leftcoastzen 👏😱Green Viragos! 3y

Ruthiella Nice haul! 😍 3y

mcctrish Charity book sales ❤️❤️❤️ 3y

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Tamra Yay!! Cather 💕 3y

BarbaraBB Quite a catch 🥰 3y

batsy These are some great finds! The Viragos and those Blytons! 3y

vivastory Muriel! 👏 👏 3y

Cathythoughts Wow ! You did very well ❤️ 3y

LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen I love to scan for that binding colour. 😆 3y

LeahBergen @Ruthiella Thanks! 😘 3y

LeahBergen @mcctrish They‘re the best! 3y

LeahBergen @Tamra I‘m thinking to choose this one for my next pick in my IRL book club (maybe?). 😄 3y

LeahBergen @BarbaraBB Thanks! 😘 3y

LeahBergen @batsy I was quite excited about the Olivia Manning, after liking School For Love so much. 👍 3y

LeahBergen @vivastory Yes! I already own two of the novels in this omnibus but I couldn‘t resist this nice little Everyman‘s edition. 3y

LeahBergen @Cathythoughts Thanks! I‘ve sure missed these big sales. 😘 3y

vivastory I don't hear The Only Problem mentioned very often. I might need to pick this up. The only one of these I own is Prime of Ms. Brodie 3y

Moray_Reads I loved Matrix when I read it last year. Prefer the UK cover though 😉 3y

Centique Great haul! I‘m so glad the book sales are back 😍 3y

Tamra @LeahBergen oh yes! 3y

MaureenMc I love used book sales! 🥰 3y

andrew61 Great finds. 3y

LeahBergen @vivastory The first of her books that I read was Memento Mori. I recommend! 3y

LeahBergen @Moray_Reads I prefer it, too! Here in Canada we seem to have a mix of US and UK covers, dependent on the publishing house (I guess). 3y

LeahBergen @Centique Thanks! 😘 3y

LeahBergen @MaureenMc They‘re the best. 😆 3y

LeahBergen @andrew61 Thanks! 😘 3y

charl08 Nice haul! 3y

CarolynM Some good reads there. I loved the Willow Farm books as a child - I read them several times. I didn‘t think The Children of Cherry Tree Farm was anywhere near as good 😂😂 3y

LeahBergen @charl08 Thanks! 😊 3y

LeahBergen @CarolynM 😆 Good to hear! This is actually a Blyton series that I never got to as a kid (damn, she was prolific!). I‘ll probably read these without reading Cherry Tree Farm first… but who knows? I may come across it before then. 3y

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erzascarletbookgasm

Thirst for Love | Yukio Mishima

On my TBR. The blurb says this is a dark, sensuous novel of obsession, torment and jealousy. After the death of her husband, Etsuko moves into the house of her father-in-law and lives with him as a couple but the relationship repulses her. There she becomes attracted to the man servant of the house, but he is oblivious to her interest. She is tormented with the unrequited sexual longing. She just wants him to #layallyourloveonne 😐
#ABBAinAugust