Yukio Mishima The Sailor who fell from grace with the Sea

[robot_mel]

This is the first time I’ve ever read a Japanese novel. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now I’ve just finished it my reactions is mixed. I did enjoy the first half a great deal. I felt that the three main characters were well developed and I liked swapping between the different perspectives. I think most I enjoyed the conversations between the mother and the actress. These scenes were especially clear and distinct to me. I found the boy to be a bit strange. I can understand that the point was the isolation and disconnectedness felt by the adolescent boy in post-war Japan. However, I felt so far removed from him that his motivations didn’t make much sense to me. The gang mentality of the boys just seemed strange and a little forced. In a way it reminded me a little of The Lord of the Flies which I didn’t like at all. I think I am just not very interested in the thoughts and feelings of young adolescent boys, whatever the culture, and would prefer to read something else.

Still it was a strange and moving story. The abrupt ending surprised me. I think this was made worse by the fact that it was given away by the blurb on the back, so I was expecting something more to happen in the book. It was good to read something different for a change but I do not think I will try and find anything else to read by the same author.