A review by kumipaul
سقوط الملاك by Yukio Mishima, يوكيو ميشيما

3.0

I normally really love Mishima, and I still did love his beautiful descriptive writing here, but the first 40% or so often felt like he was rambling and trying too hard to create a story. Or maybe trying too hard to find some rational thought patterns. As the story progressed, he seemed to settle into it and it felt less strange. As for characters, Honda was consistent with the character that had been established in his first three books of the tetralogy. Toru, the adopted son, was heartless evil as he became the son and sole heir, which was a little baffling since the author had not established enough of Toru's history to inform us as to why this occurred. Toru's meanness made me want to reach inside the book and grab him, and throw the book at him. I had read the first three books, but there were many times that I thought that this book would be a failure without those first three. Lots of references to the critical early incarnations and their relationships, and I think I would have been lost trying to read this one on its own. Overall, I mostly enjoyed the second half, but the strength of the book was the final scene at the convent.