Review

Rating: 8

i rented this book from the library. i loved it so much, the catch phrases, and such, that i wanted to write in it and develop my own ideas on it. so i went out and bought it. (can i say that borders sucks! BN all the way) 12.95 later… i know, right? i have it. though, not the version i wanted. why do all the reprinted covers look so much worse. and no illustrations! i just couldnt understand how if he died in 1927, he made allusions to the holocaust, which occured in the 40s. my favorite story was Yabu no Naka. this story, (in a grove), i liked because of the plot twist at the end. i also liked Kesa to Morito. same reason. i find it odd that both of these stories involved rape, and in hope to conceal their shame, the victim conspires to kill her husband. more creative on Kesa’s part (i liked the monologues), but i liked the change of view in Yabu no Naka and how he felt sliding into death. ANOTHER short story compilation?? what am i thinking?! the lack of change of view in Ryuu was interesting as well, though i did not quite understand the aim of the outer frame (in the frame story, pocket 10 cents from ninth grade english), and it seemed redundant. a hollow way to end the book. (though it wasnt quite an ending because it was just a collection compiled some twenty some years after the author’s death (in ‘52) to reflect his best work. not in my opinion, but hey.) AND i did like the foreword by the english guy. i did not like the title story Rashomon named after a ruined torii in Kyoto. it seemed short and empty. as if it tried to have a plot, a purpose, to teach a lesson or moral, but failed. It was was easy to tell what scenery the author was familiar with because he used the same prefectures, rivers, cities, and mountains over again.