Name: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
ISBN: 9781784875428

Yukio Mishima

VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS - five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions. 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 disillusionment as an act of betrayal on his part - and the retribution is deliberate and horrifying.

Vintage Classics Japanese Series

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

Callas

'...living is merely the chaos of existence..'

lily lily 

The smooth, inflamed play of their lips altered subtly with every contact and clinging release as from angle after angle they poured each other full of light, spinning into a single luminous thread all of softness and of sweetness.

Only when the cool tips of their noses brushed did he realize with a chuckle that they were two firm, separate bodies.

Aubrey 

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

Luca Colaluce

First Fiction by Mishima 

Eager to read to more.

My third book from Mishima was not a pleasant reading, as it brought a strange aftertaste, in which I was astonished on how his prose-like writing came to life on each page. The protagonist Noboru has his ideal frame of masculinity, of being full of strength, and also rejection of the conventional moral of a man. Most of his thoughts are primarily influenced by his friend, whom he called the ‘chief’, also the alienation and insecurities he felt while living with his mother, Fusako. Noboru admired the sailor, Ryuji—he held Ryuji as the Übermensch figure, so when he felt like his ideal was shattered or being degraded, he and his other 13-year-old friends decided it was time to make a move. Honestly, it’s terrifying to learn about the teenager's mind, but at the same time, I get them. I can visualize the world they dreamed of, or where these ideals are moving toward, and why they thought that they’re superior.

I won’t go too much into the story, I would love some fellow readers to experience this butterfly-in-my-stomach feeling while reading it. This book is very personal to Mishima’s real life, with his relationship with his authoritative father and his struggle in defining masculinity and his sexuality. I read more about his life after I finished the book, also by watching and reading other people’s reviews, to understand and maybe to look back at some of the points that I missed. Feel free to DM or drop your comments if you want to talk more about the book, I am more than happy to hear your thoughts!

shuf

My third book from Mishima was not a pleasant reading, as it brought a strange aftertaste, in which I was astonished on how his prose-like writing came to life on each page. The protagonist Noboru has his ideal frame of masculinity, of being full of strength, and also rejection of the conventional moral of a man. Most of his thoughts are primarily influenced by his friend, whom he called the ‘chief’, also the alienation and insecurities he felt while living with his mother, Fusako. Noboru admired the sailor, Ryuji—he held Ryuji as the Übermensch figure, so when he felt like his ideal was shattered or being degraded, he and his other 13-year-old friends decided it was time to make a move. Honestly, it’s terrifying to learn about the teenager's mind, but at the same time, I get them. I can visualize the world they dreamed of, or where these ideals are moving toward, and why they thought that they’re superior.

I won’t go too much into the story, I would love some fellow readers to experience this butterfly-in-my-stomach feeling while reading it. This book is very personal to Mishima’s real life, with his relationship with his authoritative father and his struggle in defining masculinity and his sexuality. I read more about his life after I finished the book, also by watching and reading other people’s reviews, to understand and maybe to look back at some of the points that I missed. Feel free to DM or drop your comments if you want to talk more about the book, I am more than happy to hear your thoughts!

my first foray into mishima and was not disappointed

Audrey Wedekind

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (Vintage Classics)

ineke

I'm writing this review over a year after reading the book just as a warning to anyone who is considering reading it. 

The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea  is in itself not a groundbreaking book — I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but the text itself is nothing too special. The interesting stuff comes when you do some research on Yukio Mishima, his life, his politics, etc. Once you get that deeper understanding of the author, and you read the book or reflect back on what you've read, you see it in a new light. 

I won't lie to you, some of the themes in this book are deranged, and Yukio Mishima's life is no better, but I will say this book is one of the most memorable I have read — and for that, it has become one of my favourites.

𓆨

i had a problem with the cat scene, overall it was good but it's too short

unsupervised cohort of thirteen years old teenage boys scared me to death

George

i really dont do .5 ratings of books but I think that this is the most 3.5 book I've read this year, good prose as expected from Mishima

jess

Felt like 3.5 out of 5; The book is beautifully written, in many places more like poetry than prose, and the details are exquisitely; eloquently described. But honestly, there is so much in this book to not like. There are early disturbing bleak parts that make you wonder what you are actually reading and seemingly directionless storytelling. However, in the last two chapters the book revealed it's purpose to me and the ideas or insights it was leading me toward, and how it led me to think that it might actually stem from Mishima's deep introspective thoughts, as is the case with much of Mishima's work; It's best to know more about Mishima's background first before jumping to his novels, particularly this one.

** spoiler alert **
           Something about psychotic children running about, making up their own rules and being very aware of that fact that they're 'just children🥺'

Stan D

The prose was fantastic, wasn't a huge fan of the ending but it made sense and completed the story, Mishima was always obsessed with death and it shows in this book.

Derek Graf

Wynter

Mishima was a genius when it came to writing his anti-hero. He found the vilest darkness in the hearts of men and weaved it in a beautiful tapestry of horrors. BAM! There goes your own sanity as Mishima playfully smashes all the goodness you believed in. Not a book for everyone, but definitely a book for me.

I would have finished this earlier but I didn't find this to be a compelling read as the majority but it was just giving me nothing?????? like if unreading this was an option I would choose it so quick also the boys were just a bunch of psychos for no reason at all like go and get a hobby you weirdos.

lord of the flies but add skinning kittens. don't read it.

Emma

Yes I Farted

i fucking hate noboru literally what is wrong with him

Explores an adolescent's response to his mother's love affair with a handsome visitor to Yokohama

Alithea

bella veale

** spoiler alert **
           ‘living is merely the chaos of existence’
‘death took root at the moment of birth and man’s only recourse thereafter was to water and tend it; that propagation was a fiction’
‘an ugliness unfurled in the moonlight and soft shadow and suffused the whole world’

Orla Kilroy

Really enjoy reading non-western translated texts, the writing and translation was very beautiful and emotive, story slumped a bit in the middle but begining and end were engaging. 

Cerys

I a really intriguing book. The subjects within this novel are rather dark yet written so beautifully. The story surrounds itself around a boy named Noburo who holds honour and masculinity very highly and once his mother new boyfriend contradicts his ideas, Noburo's ideas turn psychopathic. Noboru's whole character is rather unnerving, including the fact that he numbers his friends rather than calling them by their real names. Even though this is rather disturbing I would definitely recommend this as a read, but I would also suggest reading up on the life of Mishima to understand why he writes as he does.

Maxime van der Wal

Mishima's prose is absolutely stunning - I was in awe the entire time while I was reading this short novel. As a reader I almost felt privileged to have access to his elegant sentences. I don't feel this way often about an author's writing, but Mishima's writing was captivating to me. The narrative switches between the three main characters - Noburu, Ryuji and Fusako - seamlessly and provided depth for each character. 

As for the story, it's dark. I applaud Mishima for not shying away from disturbing scenes. Noburu and his friends are complex yet simple characters, and these controversial scenes play a big rol in illustrating their (misguided) ideas of the world. Noburu's opinion of Ryuji and how it developed from admiration to disappointment was particularly well done. 

My only complaint would be that Fusako wasn't as complex as Ryuji and Noburu - apart from being a successful, beautiful mother and business-owner there really wasn't much to her personality. Though given Mishima's despise of everything Western, and Fusako portraying the influence of the West, perhaps that was done on purpose. 

Despite the dark elements, or maybe because of it, I loved this psychological, enchanting novel. I highly recommend  The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea  to anyone who wants to read more diverse classics and doesn't mind taboos such as death and murder openly being explored.

Ashling Brown

Wow, I was not expecting something so twisted but compelling. 

The Sailor who fell from grace with the sea was not what I was expecting; it was dark, twisted and rather sick. Throughout this story, I was often disturbed or disgusted by the vivid detail in which Mishima gave us. I often couldn't move past the mindset of being entirely uneased by the more profound meaning that this story provided. 

“Real danger is nothing more than just living. Of course, living is merely the chaos of existence. Still, more than that it's a crazy mixed-up business of dismantling existence instant by instant to the point where the original chaos is restored and taking strength from the uncertainty and the fear that chaos brings to re-create existence instant by instant. You won't find another job as dangerous as that. There isn't any fear in existence itself or any uncertainty, but living creates it.”

The one thing that I adored about this book and Mishima's writing was the beautiful, vivid detail that he gave us. He describes things in such extraordinary detail and used words that I found oddly beautiful. There was something beautifully written and explained on every page, and it was a treat to read those parts.

As a whole, there is only one way to describe this book, and that is; Disturbing. I have never read a book that has made me feel so uneased and disturbed as this has, and I suppose that's what makes it great. It could upset me and unease me in a way that no other book has.

I will admit that one of our main Protagonists Noboru I hated. He had this sense of superiority that just angered me. I often couldn't belive what he was doing and saying. He and the small group he hung around with were mentally disturbed, and it made me sick to read about the things they talked about and plotted. He did and said things that made me uneasy, and from only reading the first six pages, you could tell that this boy was disturbed and has psychological issues.

The last couple of pages were suspenseful. Throughout reading those final pages, I was tense with fear and sorrow for Ryuji. I won't spoil the story, but in those moments, my heart ached. Of course, we never got the depth and detail of what happened, but finishing that final sentence made my stomach lurch. He had no idea what was coming, he thought it was going well, but it was all about to come crumbling down. At that moment, your left wondering what exactly happened, how did they do it and not get caught? The entire ending made you uneased and disturbed on a whole new level, and it was, in a sense, overwhelming and upsetting. 

As a whole, the book was wonderfully written and absorbed you into a world of disturbing psychological thoughts that I never want to look too deep into. The book isn't for those with a light-heart; I barely managed to finish after reading the ending of Part One: Chapter Five, but I'm glad I continued, even if my stomach was a constant bundle of unease throughout.

Gustina Jaraite

Even though it is a short novel, it did not feel hurried. It invoked nausea sometimes, but maybe that's a good thing? The words were beautifully overwritten in heavy prose, but also packed with nihilism.... I just don't like when something bad happens to kittens.

The Sailor who fell from grace with the sea

Maia Feruzi

A thrilling look into the cruel nature of children.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Vintage Classics Japanese Series

Join the club