This was my third Mishima novel in the past month. As I read it, with only a few exceptions, I felt that Mishima had mellowed in this work compared to Confessions of a Mask or The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, both of which were written earlier than The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. The last few pages, however, reveal that Mishima was as sick and twisted as ever, maybe even more so. And that’s what makes his books so fascinating to read. I’m addicted and can’t stop.

20 years ago I was a big fan of Steven King. I probably read 10 or more of his books in the space of a few months. I don’t think I’ve read any Steven King since that brief episode in my life though. I think Steven King would be proud of the ending in The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. I’d love to tell it to you, but for those who haven’t read it yet my telling would spoil everything for you.

Why this was named The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea when the Japanese title is 午後の曳航 I have no idea.

Next up is Spring Snow. Are there any other Mishima titles that I should absolutely not miss?

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a Mask After reading The Temple of the Golden Pavilion I felt like I needed more of Mishima so this is where I randomly turned next. Unless you are into S&M or...
2. The Sound of Waves (潮騒) We arrived in Japan without books. Within a day or two we were searching for our local library. The closest one we tried was the Tsurumaki Branch in the...
3. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion 金閣寺 Having visited kinkakuji last year, I had heard the story of the monk who burned down the prior version of the temple but not in any detail. Reading Donald...
4. ギャル探偵、翔る While browsing ebay one day I came upon a lot of 10 or so Japanese books which I subsequently purchased so that I’d have something to read once I...
5. 3 new books on Japan Three books on Japan just arrived in my mailbox from Columbia University Press. They are: Yasukuni, the War Dead and the Struggle for Japan’s Past by John Breen, Troubled Apologies...

Posted on November 21st, 2008 under Japan • Tags: book review, yukio mishima. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback