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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
http://www.victoriaaddis.com/blog/the-sailor-who-fell-from-grace-with-the-sea-by-yukio-mishima/
A gripping and unnerving portrait of the dark Ur-Fascism which pervaded the psyche of post-war Japanese reaction.
The true depth of The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is in its contrasting depiction of our protagonist, a churlish and self-important teenaged boy who, along with a group of likeminded friends, revels in his pseudo-philosophical rejection of emotion, maturity and family, and the saccharine love story which unites his mother and his stepfather-to-be, a rugged sailor.
The boys' grave attention to the study and praxis of their ideology, which emphasizes a contemptuous rejection of emotion, grief, disgust, &c., stands ethereal, in sharp contrast with its apparent immaturity, shot through—and indeed almost overshadowed by—an Oedipal hatred of fathers and the larger distrust and resentment of authority figures. The boys' self-conception as sole Übermenschen in their reality is impossible to understand without the simultaneous depiction of their physical weakness, fundamental powerlessness, and the ultimately banal reality of their lives. Their violence and their attraction to death and glory continuously prove a bitter mimicry of the sailor's own romantic attraction to these totemic concepts.
The story is stylistically masterful, with Mishima's vivid description of both the inner and outer worlds of the characters aspiring to demonstrate their, and moreover our, fundamental nature.
Any conceptualization of these themes would of course be wholly remiss without an understanding of Mishima's personal life and views, which color the narrative as a more grand depiction of the reactionary rejection of liberal democracy in Japan, and his own personal contempt for Westernization. The strong recurrence of the Oedipal hatred of the father, its counterpart reification of the mother, and the exploration of the characters' Todestriebe (the sailor Ryuji, the actress Yoriko, and—in a subtler fashion—through the psychopathy of the boys) lend the novel a Freudian air, reading as a metatextual embodiment of the boys' own philosophy, and further begging questions of Mishima's personal relationship with fatherhood.
Overall, a thoroughly interesting and well-constructed novel written by a thoroughly interesting, thoroughly horrible man.
The true depth of The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is in its contrasting depiction of our protagonist, a churlish and self-important teenaged boy who, along with a group of likeminded friends, revels in his pseudo-philosophical rejection of emotion, maturity and family, and the saccharine love story which unites his mother and his stepfather-to-be, a rugged sailor.
The boys' grave attention to the study and praxis of their ideology, which emphasizes a contemptuous rejection of emotion, grief, disgust, &c., stands ethereal, in sharp contrast with its apparent immaturity, shot through—and indeed almost overshadowed by—an Oedipal hatred of fathers and the larger distrust and resentment of authority figures. The boys' self-conception as sole Übermenschen in their reality is impossible to understand without the simultaneous depiction of their physical weakness, fundamental powerlessness, and the ultimately banal reality of their lives. Their violence and their attraction to death and glory continuously prove a bitter mimicry of the sailor's own romantic attraction to these totemic concepts.
The story is stylistically masterful, with Mishima's vivid description of both the inner and outer worlds of the characters aspiring to demonstrate their, and moreover our, fundamental nature.
Any conceptualization of these themes would of course be wholly remiss without an understanding of Mishima's personal life and views, which color the narrative as a more grand depiction of the reactionary rejection of liberal democracy in Japan, and his own personal contempt for Westernization. The strong recurrence of the Oedipal hatred of the father, its counterpart reification of the mother, and the exploration of the characters' Todestriebe (the sailor Ryuji, the actress Yoriko, and—in a subtler fashion—through the psychopathy of the boys) lend the novel a Freudian air, reading as a metatextual embodiment of the boys' own philosophy, and further begging questions of Mishima's personal relationship with fatherhood.
Overall, a thoroughly interesting and well-constructed novel written by a thoroughly interesting, thoroughly horrible man.
One of the best books I read this year. Its short length if just right for what is trying to convey, and all the characters are written excellently. Descriptions of the decaying, but industrious harbor of Yokohama is also a poignant frame for the novel overall. On purely formalistic terms, I think this novel is excellent.
This book dealt with nihilism, or as some of the characters in this book expresses it "the emptiness of the world", in an unsettling, but also in an honest and beautiful way that really speaks to me. Some of the characters find sparks in the emptiness that truly moves them, but they all realize in some way that the sparks are either impermanent, false or unrealistic, and for one of them something one has to give up.
How does one deal with the emptiness: Fill it with blood? Glory in death? Adventure? Living truly honestly? Or perhaps compromising somehow is the only realistic option. As someone who was, and still is to some lesser degree, a disillusioned youth, I appreciate this book for its beauty in its portrayal of dangerous, but honest, nihilism, apathy, and disillusionment.
This book dealt with nihilism, or as some of the characters in this book expresses it "the emptiness of the world", in an unsettling, but also in an honest and beautiful way that really speaks to me. Some of the characters find sparks in the emptiness that truly moves them, but they all realize in some way that the sparks are either impermanent, false or unrealistic, and for one of them something one has to give up.
How does one deal with the emptiness: Fill it with blood? Glory in death? Adventure? Living truly honestly? Or perhaps compromising somehow is the only realistic option. As someone who was, and still is to some lesser degree, a disillusioned youth, I appreciate this book for its beauty in its portrayal of dangerous, but honest, nihilism, apathy, and disillusionment.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There's a lot of symbolism packed in this relatively small book. The one that stood out most for me is the disillusionment of that which we idolize and the repercussions that come from this, together with the conflict it stirs.
The book revolves around Noburu and his band of thirteen year old super smart friends, and his widowed mother Fusako and her new fiancé Ryuji. Noburu who idolozes Ryuji as a hero sailor, soon is disappointed when his hero does not live up to his expectations of glory and manliness and a tragic twist ensues.
The book revolves around Noburu and his band of thirteen year old super smart friends, and his widowed mother Fusako and her new fiancé Ryuji. Noburu who idolozes Ryuji as a hero sailor, soon is disappointed when his hero does not live up to his expectations of glory and manliness and a tragic twist ensues.
Mişimanın kaleminin ne denli güçlü olduğunu bi' an, yalnızca bi' anlığına unutmam bana deli bir kalp çarpıntısı olarak geri döndü. Kitabı anlatabilecek doğru kelimeleri bulup cümle kurabilmem neredeyse imkansız bu nedenle denemeyi bile denemeyeceğim. Konunun hayatına değinmiş olması bile yeteri kadar ürpertici ve dokunaklı. Böylesi dehşeti bu kadar naif iletebilmek nasıl bir başarı?
Ah be Hiraoka! 💧
Ah be Hiraoka! 💧
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense