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evangant 's review for:
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
by Yukio Mishima
Glory X Death X Woman -- the pieces of a 'man'. The Sailor... dives into the concepts of masculinity; the factors that make one a man, what is a 'father figure'?, and the dividing emotional pieces of an individual that can lead to self-induced emotional isolation. Extremely graphic at points, while deeply gentle at others, Yukio Mishima's dreamy prose and naturalistic perspective of life make this book feel like no other. The main characters of the novel represent the major themes of the book (I won't say as to not spoil anything). Ryuji, who I identify as the real protagonist of the story exemplifies the ideas in such an authentic manner. The miniature moments where the reader peeps into the consciousness of Ryuji make him feel like everyone and anyone. The novel balances the themes here in a very extreme, very disturbing story, but keeps the concepts universal. This book isn't for everyone, as a mixture of a few scenes in the novel and Mishima's fascist ideas can collide in tiny moments throughout. But what allowed me to enjoy this book so much was the impact it had on me and the separation of Mishima's politics in the story--it almost feels as if Mishima was self-aware enough to realize his ideas are extremely radical (this is presented through one of the MC's). All in all, I found this book to be beautifully displayed and added depth to such extreme concepts.