(Original Review, 1981-04-24)“They performed in silence. He trembled a little out of vanity, as when he had first scaled the mast. The woman’s lower body, like a hibernating animal half asleep, moved lethargically under the quilts; he sensed the stars of night tilting dangerously at the top of the m...
You and I exist in alternate different forms in countless other universes...At each of those moments you survived in one universe and left your own corpse behind in another.- Kenzaburo Oe: A Personal MatterBird, the protagonist, is confronted by a grave problem, a problem that threatens his future f...
The Last Samurai Two months short of his 46th birthday, on November 25, 1970, Yukio Mishima with a handful of followers and dressed in full uniform, entered the compound of the Japan Self-Defense Force, gagged and tied up the commander of the JSDF, demanding the assembly of the entire Eastern ...
At some level I think that this is about the potential problems inherent in a society accepting the truth of our objective reality, and embracing the philosophy of existentialism (at least in its least systematized forms). Mishima seems to be suggesting that not only will children be unable to grow ...
Mishima was a genius when it came to writing his anti-hero. He found the vilest darkness in the hearts of men and weaved it in a beautiful tapestry of horrors. BAM! There goes your own sanity as Mishima playfully smashes all the goodness you believed in. Not a book for everyone, but definitely a boo...
This is hard for me to understand...
What a disappointing read. We are immediately introduced to the protagonist, Bird, and his internal struggles: his wife is at this very moment giving birth to their first child. While this may seem to be a joyous occasion, Bird feels it is a symbol of his loss of youth and freedom. Bird wants not...
This is quite something. These stories really draw you in, if you approach them with an open mind. 'The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away' is confusing, but once you've mastered the perspective shifts and un-flagged dialogue, it's a fascinating read. Personally, I did find these techniques det...
here are some words and phrases regarding this collection of thematically-linked novellas by left-leaning post-war Japanese author Oe Kenzaburo:- surreal, dream-like- grotesque, morbid- humanistic, humane- unsentimental, clear-eyed- a modernist style of writing with a postmodern view of the world? o...
Books read in the past:One of the creepier and more chilling novels I've read, and certainly so by volume. Mishima packs in a great deal of cold contempt with spare language, vivid images, and terrifying outcomes. An eloquent and enduring novel with long-lasting resonance.
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