Yukio Mishima
Paperback | Pages: 1489 pages Rating: 4.4 | 408 Users | 24 Reviews
Declare Of Books The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4)
| Title | : | The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4) |
| Author | : | Yukio Mishima |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 1489 pages |
| Published | : | 1986 by Penguin Books (first published 1970) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Japan. Asian Literature. Japanese Literature |
Chronicle In Favor Of Books The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4)
Amazingly, I had come across this tetralogy by Yukio Mishima some weeks ago at the DASA Book Cafe in Bangkok. I tried to contact someone there to find and reserve it for me but in vain. Thus, I finally saw this paperback wait for me on its shelf on May 5, 2010 when I went there again. I'm sorry I don't know Japanese, therefore, I have to be content with its translated version in English. Indeed, I recall vaguely when I sometime visited my favorite Asia Books bookstore on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok during my college years in the late 60's, once in a while I saw this novel on display and I couldn't help picking it up to browse a few pages because I didn't know Yukio Mishima or have any motive to read it, it's simply beyond my reading capability then.Surprisingly, he wrote some parts based on Thailand's background and some interesting Thai characters. I presume he might have visited Thailand till he felt familiar with our culture. It's simply astonishing for such a brilliant Japanese writer.
On May 15, 2010, I was reading Chapter 52 (10 pages to go); I hoped to finish reading his "Spring Snow" (Book I), so that I gained familiarity regarding his writing style and ways of looking at things. All I can say now is that his style is unique and brilliant compared with other Japanese authors since I've never read him before.
On June 4, 2010 I finished reading "Runaway Horses" (Book II). I found its 40 Chapters still enjoyable since the key characters have been interestingly enmeshed in the rightist movement, radicalism and patriotism.
After putting this book aside for a year, on May 5, 2011 I finished reading "The Temple of Dawn" (Book III). Honda, it seems to me, is the hero whose fate has dictated himself to meet Ying Chan (Kiyoaki, his friend, believed to be reborn) in Thailand and later in Japan till her passing at 20.
Therefore, "The Decay of the Angel" (Book IV) would be the last one for me to read as soon as I can find motivation.
On May 21, 2011, I finished reading this tetralogy and found Book IV a three-star one (like Book III) while Books I & II, I think, should deserve their 4-star ratings. Therefore, the rating above should be 3.5, not 4.
In brief, this novel is surprisingly, enjoyably readable if you have time and don't mind trying reading Yukio Mishima and thus you'd know why he has long been regarded as one of the great Japanese authors; I myself couldn't help being grief-stricken when he passed away so soon (like the daffodils in a Wordsworth's poem I read in an English literature course).
Point Books In Pursuance Of The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4)
| Original Title: | 豊饒の海 Hōjō no Umi |
| ISBN: | 0140069291 (ISBN13: 9780140069297) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Sea of Fertility #1-4 |
Rating Of Books The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4)
Ratings: 4.4 From 408 Users | 24 ReviewsJudgment Of Books The Sea of Fertility (The Sea of Fertility #1-4)
Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫) was born in Tokyo in 1925. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial Universitys School of Jurisprudence in 1947. His first published book, The Forest in Full Bloom, appeared in 1944 and he established himself as a major author with Confessions of a Mask (1949). From then until his death he continued to publish novels, short stories, and plays each year. His crowning achievement, theMishima saved the best for last, the Sea of Fertility ties everything together in a way that, in the end, turns out to mean nothing at all. The book is divided into four parts, most people prefer either Spring Snow or Runaway Horses, probably because they get stuck in part 3, The Temple of Dawn, where Mishima kind of drones on a bit about Buddhist theology, and as a result never read part 4, The Decay of the Angel, which is one of the best things I've ever read. The Buddhist exposition didn't
Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫) was born in Tokyo in 1925. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial Universitys School of Jurisprudence in 1947. His first published book, The Forest in Full Bloom, appeared in 1944 and he established himself as a major author with Confessions of a Mask (1949). From then until his death he continued to publish novels, short stories, and plays each year. His crowning achievement, the
I have read this novel in its entirety maybe three or four times in my life. It is a great work that deserves to be considered amongst the greatest literary achievements of the 20th century, and like Proust it explores in depth the different phases of a man's life along with his obsessions, eccentricities, and eventual decay. Like Proust it doesn't shy away from the scandalous, but instead illuminates it as evidence of human frailty. The final book "Decay of an Angel" was a big influence on my
I've given myself 5 books on Goodreads for reading this tetralogy...reckon I earned it! It's a pretty big undertaking...not just in terms of page count but in terms of the density of the work (I also read it from an ancient edition that disintegrated page by page as I read it...kind of fitting for this work!). If I'm honest...I drifted through some of the pages on Buddhism and Thai History. Mishima said that finishing The Sea of Fertility felt like the end of the world...reading it is not quite
Make no mistake, if you are a literature junkie(even more if jap lit is among you like best), you need to read the sea of fertility, it might be not only one of the best books ever written in Japan but also worldwide.Unlike other Mishima works, this tetralogy tastes more like a literary trip into past over almost a century, you will certainly appreciate the journey.It is a true river of words but you shall not drown because of words but more probably because of literary beauty.
Brilliant book with reincarnation as it's theme, at times I liked Honda and at times I wasn't sure.Underneath it all there is an element of sadness and wonder if Mishima, who committed suicide a month after finishing the book did this consiously.
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