Name: Star
Rating: 3.277777777777778 (36 reviews)
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?

Tim Pendry

<br />An extended short story by Mishima from his 1961 collection of the same name, 'Star' reflects his own unhappy recent experience as an actor in a gangster (yakuza) movie. Perhaps it is an exorcism of that experience.<br /><br />It has the expected themes of Mishima - love, death, suicide and so forth - but it has been over-praised in the past perhaps because Mishima is himself a 'star' and is 'owed' praise. In fact, it is a lucid but lightweight piece that would not be so interesting if it was not by him. 

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

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.

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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