What a book--talk about writing relationships that feel realer than life itself! Mishima is a master--Kazu at once represents the modern of the Japanese woman, and the success all women can attain: she's independently wealthy, influential, and can use her feminine beauty and tact as a weapon in conversation and politics. On the other hand, her husband Noguchi--a man she's attracted to for his stubbornness and aloofness--wants her to conform to his ideal of a housewife--something she cannot, ultimately, do. Watching married life slowly destroy Kazu's self respect is insidiously realistic, and so the drama unfolds beautifully. ( )

Mishima makes the mid-life crisis and self-discovery of a fifty year old woman a compelling read for me, a younger man. Brief because Mishima's writing is so economical and effective. While I liked it, I enjoyed Spring Snow and Runaway Horses far more. ( )