house of the sleeping beauties

The novel “The Sound of the Mountain” by Yasunari Kawabata offers a deep dive into the world of old age, memory, and fleeting beauty. The events revolve around an elderly man who visits a mysterious house in Tokyo, where he is given the opportunity to spend the nights next to beautiful sleeping girls under the influence of sedatives, without them waking up. Each night the man confronts his memories of his life, his relationships with women, and his struggle with the passage of time, which reminds him of the frailty of the body and the loss of vitality. Kawabata weaves a poetic, contemplative language, highlighting the contrast between the unchanging beauty of youth and the inevitable ends of old age, while raising existential questions about the meaning of freedom, regret, and compassion.

The novel does not offer easy answers, but leaves the reader in dialogue with its ideas about isolation, desire, and the unconscious. The scenes are full of symbols, such as the sleeping body, which embodies an escape from reality or a confrontation with death, while the sleeping girls show the fragility of human beauty in the face of time. The author’s calm but deep style makes the work like a work of art that touches emotions without creating direct drama.