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greeniezona 's review for:
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
by Yukio Mishima
My first read for #januaryinjapan. I'd been meaning to read some more Mishima for a while now — ever since reading and loving [b:Spring Snow|62793|Spring Snow|Yukio Mishima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360239609l/62793._SX50_.jpg|2295485] — and this challenge gave me the perfect reason to do so.
I so enjoy Mishima's style of writing — somehow spare and yet poetic all at once. That said, no one warned me that perhaps as the mother of a fourteen-year-old son, this book might be extra troubling. It really was. This is not a fun or light or easy book to read. There were two parts that were troubling enough that I almost stopped reading. By the way, if you are thinking of reading this book, content warnings for voyeurism, animal abuse, and violence.
BUT. Like I said, the atmosphere of Mishima's writing is so magnetic. As are his themes of masculinity, identity, and purpose. His books exist in that transitory space of Japan after WWII, as it was being opened to the West, and the tension between those two cultures. And specifically in this book, add a group of highly intelligent teenage boys under the sway of a budding psychopath.
This dark little book, while upsetting, is quite compelling. An enthralling read.
I so enjoy Mishima's style of writing — somehow spare and yet poetic all at once. That said, no one warned me that perhaps as the mother of a fourteen-year-old son, this book might be extra troubling. It really was. This is not a fun or light or easy book to read. There were two parts that were troubling enough that I almost stopped reading. By the way, if you are thinking of reading this book, content warnings for voyeurism, animal abuse, and violence.
BUT. Like I said, the atmosphere of Mishima's writing is so magnetic. As are his themes of masculinity, identity, and purpose. His books exist in that transitory space of Japan after WWII, as it was being opened to the West, and the tension between those two cultures. And specifically in this book, add a group of highly intelligent teenage boys under the sway of a budding psychopath.
This dark little book, while upsetting, is quite compelling. An enthralling read.