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Runaway Horses |
The second novel, 'Runaway Horses' is more philosophical and could be called an elegy for the samurai tradition. It explores the spiritual beliefs that make life meaningful and the glory of dying for such beliefs as well as the Buddhist conception of reincarnation. Although I found it a little difficult to relate to a character with such an obsession with death, I have to admit the author is convincing in his depiction of youthful, extreme idealism.
*Yukio Mishima was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize and within days of completing the last novel of the tetralogy, he committed suicide by ritual seppuku (or harakiri)
(Denise Lewis - bwl 66 Autumn 2012) |
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Spring Snow |
The first novel in the 'Sea of Fertility' tetralogy is a tragic love story set in the early twentieth century and focuses on the conflicts in Japanese society caused by Westernisation. It is a haunting story of impassioned but controlled sensibilities told in delicate and lyrical prose with wonderful details of the culture, dress and even hairstyles of the period. It can be read as a single novel.
(Denise Lewis - bwl 66 Autumn 2012) |
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The Temple of the Golden Pavilion |
This novel was inspired by the destruction by burning of the famous Golden Pavilion, in Kyoto in 1950 (subsequently completely rebuilt). I visited it in 1947 and was sad to learn of its destruction by a young Zen Buddhist acolyte. It is a tale of the destructive quality of primitive envy and provides food for thought for the thoughtful (bwl) reader. Perhaps I should mention that Yukio Mishima finally committed ritual hara-kiri. More food for thought!
(Murray Jackson - bwl 7 February 2001) |
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