Name: Star
ISBN: 9780241383476

Yujio Mishima

Star

Yukio Mishima

All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention--they would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions. Being a star, constantly performing, being watched and scrutinized as if under a microscope, is often a drag. But so is life. Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film "Afraid to Die," this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there any escape from how we are seen by others?

Bibi

Brilliant style of writing….loved many scenes. Genuinely felt like i was watching everything on screen which is hard to achieve for me. Some parts were weird but it’s a man writing this so

Eris

amira

amelo

gülsu

jess

Precariously alluring, narrating the life of a star and how the star self-dissociates within himself, the identity of his blurs out with the persona he self created. Closely reminding of Perfect Blue as a movie. Amazing short read.

雪 xue

Jade Flynn

Read for my Astrology O.W.L 2019 (read a book with 'Star' in the title) - This prompt for the readathon was so specific that I didn't own one book which had the word star in the title in my whole collection. Luckily, I found this one on my wishlist and it was the only one. It was okay. Nothing special, a read that can be completed in one sitting. There's better Mishima novels out there.

Michael Chen

A haunting novella of fame and disillusionment by a Japanese literary icon All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention. They would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions. Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existence comes sharply into focus. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there ever any escape from how we are seen by others?

Star

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