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 ) |
