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A review by sidharthvardhan
Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima
3.0
Mishima's attempt at portrayal of homosexuality gives only mix tesults. The generalisations made about himsexuals makes one want to throw the book. If you can ignore those couple of sentences though, it is an intresting portrayal of psychology of a a homosexual person living in a society where homosexuals are not supposed to exist. Intresting because I don't always find the author agreeable.
The segregation of sexes that is made in schools and colleges and jails is probably made with aim of keeping people from having sex - but aren't they presuming that all children are hetrosexuals ? Our narrator studies in one such boys' school. His constant efforts at denials and pretending to be a straight person is one of the two themes of novel.
The other theme is that of war. In a way, our 'mask' is a war child. Born and raised amid wars, taught in millitary schools. And thus has an obsession with death. An obsession perhaps common to his generation in Japan. That was raised to be soldiers - including the famous suicide bombers.
It not so much shocking then that he should find a sexual satisfaction in sadism and death.
The segregation of sexes that is made in schools and colleges and jails is probably made with aim of keeping people from having sex - but aren't they presuming that all children are hetrosexuals ? Our narrator studies in one such boys' school. His constant efforts at denials and pretending to be a straight person is one of the two themes of novel.
The other theme is that of war. In a way, our 'mask' is a war child. Born and raised amid wars, taught in millitary schools. And thus has an obsession with death. An obsession perhaps common to his generation in Japan. That was raised to be soldiers - including the famous suicide bombers.
It not so much shocking then that he should find a sexual satisfaction in sadism and death.