Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful, An

Simons, J David

  10 Reviews

Japan and all things Japanese have always held Briton Edward Strathairn in thrall, so much so that he writes his best-selling novel while living there. Although launching his stellar career, 'The Watershed', the novel in question, proves to be a divisive issue in his life as it challenges the treatment meted out by America to the Japanese citizenry during World War II, in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now in his twilight years, Edward returns to Japanese shores, reflecting on his life and work.

Moving between past and present, this is a gently provocative story of changing perspectives and world events rendered accessible through the lives of individuals. [small font]

Comments from Groups

We were fascinated by this book because of the beautiful and excellent descriptive writing. Despite not liking the self-centred main character, he and the others were so well drawn and very real, and the interaction between them very interesting...We would be interested in trying another book by this author. Auckland 293

There were mixed responses to this book. Some people loved it while others were less keen, and were annoyed by the main character's flawed personality. We all agreed however, that it was well written and it provided several interesting and thought provoking issues to discuss. We very much appreciated Joan Curry's book notes - in fact we always enjoy reading her comments. Wellington 007

Most enjoyed it, we felt we learnt quite a lot and had a good discussion.We thought the notes were well written, the questions mostly relevant. We would recommend it it to other readers. Geraldine 002

Our group enjoyed this book. We seem to have had a lot of "time-hop" books but this one flowed quite well. It demonstrated the complexities of relationships....love , hate, anger and violence. We had an interesting discussion re Japanese/American perceptions of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings... Auckland 293

There was a mixed reaction to this book. Most did not admire the central character, and some had trouble finding the 'beautiful' aspect. But we did realize it was well-constructed book with many facets. We found Joan Curry's notes very good indeed; most helpful, and great discussion ensued. Coromandel 002

A beautiful book to end the year - well written and descriptive. Many issues in it made for good discussion. More like this please! Nelson 062

Complex with many layers covering history, cultures, human relationships and much more. Beautifully descriptive passages capturing the essence of Japan. We all highly recommend this book. Great in-depth discussion. Diamond Harbour 001

Provocative, very well crafted, an excellent read, perhaps the best for the year. We would recommend it. A good book for discussion with almost too many themes! Upper Hutt 001

The group were fairly lukewarm to this book. The strength of the book was the descriptions of Japan, particularly of Tokyo in 2003. However, the main character is very unsympathethic and we didn't feel that overall the book was successful. Wellington 001

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