he hears only the sound of death in the distant rumble from the mountain. The relationships which have previously defined his life - with his son, his wife, and his attractive daughter-in-law - are dissolving, and Shingo is caught between love and destruction. Lyrical and precise, The Sound of the Mountain explores in immaculately crafted prose the changing roles of love and the truth we face in ageing."
A deeply meaningful book that I didn't understand at all. It is a book that I don't think can be read casually, as I did. It would better suited in a book club or high school literature lesson. It must be dissected. The motifs. The meaning of the Noh masks, the different flowers, the stray dog giving birth under the porch. The themes, of aging, love, family, loyalty, trauma and modernity. The subtle word choices and rhythms that Kawabata chooses to employ. If not then you loose much of the authors intent.
As a metaphor for aging and the difficulty of family relations, it works well. As an actual story... there is barely any plot with nothing coming to any resolution. It was a slice of life book, a slice of the main character's life and existential ponderings used to illuminate certain human foibles to the reader but not to engage us. Not for us to have any conventional feeling of pacing, plot or character development.
Kawabata crafts the relationship between Shingo and Kikuko beautifully on the cutting edge of sensuality and sympathy. Both the characters thrive separately in their miseries and still somehow in a bizarre way find a spiritual connection with each other, making the reader curious for the unheard. The tension of the unsaid and nervously wanted was certainly the highlight of the book for me.
A beautiful and unique bit of writing that deserves study but certainly not a story.
Age Rating 15+. Abortions, affairs and a creeping sensuality.
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