A review by guitarpotato
Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima

4.0

 „As I have remarked several times, the future was a heavy burden for me. From the very beginning, life had oppressed me with a heavy sense of duty. Even though I was clearly incapable of performing this duty, life still nagged at me for my dereliction. Thus I longed for the great sense of relief that death would surely bring…“ 

Going into this novel I did not expect to relate so much with the narrator (especially with the protagonist somewhat mirroring Mishima himself – who in my opinion was not a very likable man). His pining for understanding love and all that it entails is expressed in such beautiful prose. And his realization that he doesn’t fit societal norms which leads to his pained longing for a life he won’t let himself live. It is heart wrenching. The backdrop of Japan being at war is another intriguing element – especially with the commentary regarding the ongoing conflict (from university professors advocating for the war to end to the narrator’s glorified idea of dying in war). 

I will definitely read more of Mishima’s works in the future!