Yasunari Kawabata

Follows the story of a tragic affair between a wealthy dilettante and a mountain geisha who gives herself to him without illusions or regrets, in a tale of wasted love by the Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

Snow Country

雪国

Shimamura is tired of the bustling city. He takes the train through the snow to the mountains of the west coast of Japan, to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, Komako is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha, and lives a life of servitude and seclusion that is alien to Shimamura, and their love offers no freedom to either of them. Snow Country is both delicate and subtle, reflecting in Kawabata's exact, lyrical writing the unspoken love and the understated passion of the young Japanese couple.

For a fair portion of this novella, I was feeling uninspired and motivated to read, though I put this down to hardly finding the time to dedicate and fully immerse myself in Kawabata’s world. I am glad I carried on: though I found Part One slightly disengaging, I found Part Two beautiful and alive. The writing throughout the whole of the story is gorgeous, Kawabata’s narration is eloquent and seductive. The author depicts, in my opinion, the war of love; or perhaps the struggle of a love that cannot be. One of my only, and strongest, complaints is the impression I have of Shimamura: I find him voyeuristic, apathetic and infuriating. Perhaps this is intentional, perhaps it could be a product of problematic patriarchal characters. Overall, I struggled at first to sink my teeth into this novella but found the experience rewarding, in both the ideas and thoughts I gained and the way the language felt on my tongue.

Lily Cooper

Helena

3.75*
i loved his writing and picturing the images described. through the second part of the book i felt closer to the characters too and i ended up enjoying it more than i expected.

Cait🪼

Despite some misogynistic remarks here and there by the main character, there was an inexplicable attachment I had to the writing. It's quietly beautiful, like a still winter painting except for the stray drop of melted icicle splashing, creating ripples on a fish pond. It ends tragically for the man, as the woman love interest showed how she was a universe herself, escaping his grasp and consciousness, yet the end also somehow revolutionises him. 

fairuza hanun

Darda Nella

charisa

ugh, PAIN. SO MUCH PAIN. heart is in shambles. for all my previous kawabata bashing, he kind of nails the anguished feeling you get when you want something to an impossible end. also, i thought the ending was strangely perfect. unsettling and kind of out-of-body, but somehow right.

Ivy X

3.5

Quotes
- He felt a little guilty, as though he had deceived her, when he saw how the frivolous words of the traveler who would be gone tomorrow seemed to have struck something deep and serious in the woman's life. 

-To Shimamura it was wasted effort, this way of living. He sensed in it too a longing that called out to him for sympathy. But the life and way of living no doubt flowed thus grandly from the samisen with a new worth for Komako herself. 

-And she wondered too if being generally faithful to one man was not the same thing as being married. 

-If man had a tough, hairy hide like a bear, his world would be different indeed, Shimamura thought. It was through a thin, smooth skin that man loved. Looking out at the evening mountains, Shimamura felt a sentimental longing for the human skin.

Alithea

Josh Clement

Snow country is about a ‘mountain geisha’ (better name for this book) named Komako, who lives in a small onsen town. She is wild, smart, impulsive, drinks, her moods swing dramatically, yells, weeps, skis, sews, falls in love, drinks some more, curses and crashes through doors and onto taxis. What makes her most interesting, and tragic, is that she accepts everything good or bad, as if it was fate. So when things go badly, like her doomed relationship with a visitor from the city, it’s all the more painful to read. I really liked the cinematic imagery too, the coal warmed Kotatsu, snow tunnels, tinkling tea kettles, empty train stations, jagged mountains at dawn, I couldn’t get enough.

donna 

kawabata is a writer of contemplation. he shines by finding an abundance of images to illustrate emptiness by evoking a strong atmosphere of imminent loss- 

told in sparse, lyrical prose and with many eclipses, the short novel is melancholic and dreamlike, but can also read as a piece of social criticism. 

the plot unfolds over the change of nature- of the seasons. it is a beautiful text in which kawabata manages to refrain from revealing all its secrets to the reader, but speaks of emotional truths so subtle and complex that it remains astonishing. a true classic. 

Kohana

The book follows an impossible love story between a married, wealthy man named Shimamura from Tokyo and a Geisha from Snow Country.      Shimamura is tired of the Tokyo life so he takes a train and goes to a rural town ‘snow country’ to meet a geisha named Komako who he believes he is in love with.

🌸Review:

Kawabata’s writing is just honestly so beautiful, lyrical and composed. It’s as if someone is singing a lullaby to you. His scenic descriptions are just so beautiful. His writing truly has a mesmerizing effect.

Throughout the book everything that happens has so much symbolic meaning and all the encounters really helps you understand what Kawabata is trying to say. It’s more about the characters but the scenic descriptions he uses also explains a lot in what he is trying to say.

I know a lot of people did not like this book because of the characters – personally I think the characters are very fitting for the book and I really loved Komako. I can see why a lot of people would hate Shimamura and he isn’t my favorite character either but I think his character is what makes the book.      I see Komako getting a lot more hate than shimamura and honestly I think it’s because people don’t realize how bad Shimamura is because of author’s beautiful descriptions. There are a lot of other important characters like Yoko, Yukio etc. but I’m trying to not go on and on about it. 
I would love to just talk about what I think about the singnificance of yoko’s relationship with Kamoko and also, Shimamura and what Shimamura thinks about the other characters but it wouldn’t really make any sense if you haven’t read the book so I’ll restrain myself.

The ending is sad, mind-blowing and just so mesmerizing. I’m sure the ending has some symbolic meaning that I haven’t figured out yet and hopefully I will after discussing it with a friend.

I think it’s a beautiful literature book that everyone who loves classics should read. You may either hate the book or love it; but I think every classic lover should give it a go regardless.

Shimamura is tired of the bustling city. He takes the train through the snow to the mountains of the west coast of Japan, to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, Komako is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha, and lives a life of servitude and seclusion that is alien to Shimamura, and their love offers no freedom to either of them. Snow Country is both delicate and subtle, reflecting in Kawabata�s exact, lyrical writing the unspoken love and the understated passion of the young Japanese couple.

Jade Flynn

“His head fell back, and the Milky Way flowed down inside him with a roar”

This novel is evidence that there is beauty in simplicity. A melancholy love affair.

Elene

The moon shone like a blade frozen in blue ice.

Gabriela Roxana 

I meaaaaaaan.... No. Simply no.
I enjoyed the description of the snow sceneries. Other than this, it was a mess. What was with that ending? It made zero sense....

Leila

Jake H

Edward G. Seidensticker

Tired of the bustling city, a man takes the train through the snow to Japan's mountains, to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, she is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha, and lives a life of servitude and seclusion. Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata's masterpiece, is a delicate, subtle meditation on love and its limits.

'A work of beauty and strangeness, one of the most distinguished and moving of Japanese novels' New York Herald Tribune

Snow Country

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