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The Decay of the Angel
Yukio Mishima
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Description for The Decay of the Angel
Paperback. Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting. Num Pages: 256 pages. BIC Classification: FA; FYT. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 148 x 197 x 16. Weight in Grams: 188.
The dramatic climax of The Sea of Fertility tetraology.
It is the 1960s and Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru. Honda believes that the boy is the reincarnation of the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, he makes him his heir, and watches him, waiting. But Toru is also watching Honda...
'A surpassingly chilling, subtle and original novel' New York Times
'Mishima's ritualistic suicide in 1970 will always overshadow his work, but his dark saga of 20th-century Japan is mesmerising' Guardian
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2001
Publisher
Vintage Classics
Condition
New
Number of Pages
256
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780099284574
SKU
9780099284574
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 2 to 4 working days
Ref
99-2
About Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of forty-five. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On November 25th, 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of 45.
Reviews for The Decay of the Angel
A major literary creation
New York Times
This tetralogy is considered one of Yukio Mishima's greatest works. It could also be considered a catalogue of Mishima's obsessions with death, sexuality and the samurai ethic. Spanning much of the 20th century, the tetralogy begins in 1912 when Shigekuni Honda is a young man and ends in the 1960s with Honda old and unable to distinguish reality from illusion. En route, the books chronicle the changes in Japan that meant the devaluation of the samurai tradition and the waning of the aristocracy
Washington Post
One of the great writers of the twentieth century
Los Angeles Times
Japan's foremost man of letters
Spectator
Mishima's novels exude a monstrous and compulsive weirdness, and seem to take place in a kind of purgatory for the depraved The four novels remain one of the outstanding works of twentieth-century literature and a summary of the author's life and work
Los Angeles Times
Yukio Mishima was, in life as in death, and in fiction especially, a master of gorgeous, and perverse surprises
New York Times
New York Times
This tetralogy is considered one of Yukio Mishima's greatest works. It could also be considered a catalogue of Mishima's obsessions with death, sexuality and the samurai ethic. Spanning much of the 20th century, the tetralogy begins in 1912 when Shigekuni Honda is a young man and ends in the 1960s with Honda old and unable to distinguish reality from illusion. En route, the books chronicle the changes in Japan that meant the devaluation of the samurai tradition and the waning of the aristocracy
Washington Post
One of the great writers of the twentieth century
Los Angeles Times
Japan's foremost man of letters
Spectator
Mishima's novels exude a monstrous and compulsive weirdness, and seem to take place in a kind of purgatory for the depraved The four novels remain one of the outstanding works of twentieth-century literature and a summary of the author's life and work
Los Angeles Times
Yukio Mishima was, in life as in death, and in fiction especially, a master of gorgeous, and perverse surprises
New York Times