Usually when I travel to a country, I like to simultaneously read something by an author native to the place I'm visiting, so for my Japan trip this year I chose the aforementioned Mishima book because of it being lightweight and a standalone book (I know he also has a well regarded trilogy but that is a lot of book to lug and I prefer physical copies if possible). Also, a friend recommended Mishima to me some years ago.

I'm about halfway through (it's only 200 pages or so) and holy moly I am struggling to find anything to compare this book to. I was originally put off by my friend's description of a book about a stuttering monk who is intensely obsessed with a temple. I mean where do you go with that? And I'll admit I have the phrase "the temple of the golden pavilion" ringing in my head just from its repetition in the hundred pages or so I've read, but Mishima has serious authorial juice and takes that premise to wild wild places. ​​​​​​​​​​ ​​

I know a bit about the author's tragic history and extreme politics, so I feel a bit weird reading it in the open in Japan, but no one has seemed to care or pay particular attention. I also don't know if I've ever read anything with such a misanthropic narrator. We get a bit of background about his disposition in his description of being mercilessly teased as a child for his stutter, but that leads to a messed up person to be inside the head of for 200 pages.

It's the last day of my trip so I'm trying to save the rest of the book for the plane ride home. I certainly am not into the guy's politics, but if "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" is representative of Mishima's other works I am certainly going to read more from him. ​​​​​​​I see some chatter on here about "The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea" so I'll probably grab that at the bookstore near the train station where I got "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion". ​

Anyways, I posted this because I didn't see any discussion of "Golden Pavilion" in a search of this sub. What did people like or dislike about it? ​

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submitted by /u/DinosaurSamurai69
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