Author: Mishima Yukio
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: 1999 (1963)
Pages: 181
Format: Paperback
Genre: Modern Classic
Source: Bought Copy
A band of savage thirteen-year-old boys reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call 'objectivity'. When the mother of one of them begins an affair with a ship's officer, he and his friends idealise the man at first; but it is not long before they conclude that he is in fact soft and romantic. They regard this disallusionment as an act of betrayal on his part - and the retribution is deliberate and horrifying.
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea was a fascinating tale that ended up being completely different from what I'd expected after reading the blurb. This is quite a dark story in many ways, but it is gripping from start to finish. The principal characters all came across well and held my interest, and the book considered some intriguing, if occasionally mildly disturbing, themes. I didn't fall in love with it as much as I did Thirst for Love, but I am still really glad I read it and plan to continue reading more of Mishima's works as they are all very thought-provoking pieces.
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