At times lyrical, the novel is starkly drawn, with dark brooding scenes interspersed with bright sunbursts. The text is particularly notable for its sharp and radical observations, as in: "Etsuko was a beautiful eczema. At Yakichi's age, he couldn't itch without eczema." (p. 134). The writing is interlaced with asides reflecting a dark brooding focus, as in the child taking pleasure after drowning a colony of ants in boiling water, or in mutilated rose petals lying face down in rainwater. These dark moments, as in much of Mishima's writings, tend to bring the reader to a foreboding of impending tragedy.