- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; First UK edition edition (27 Jun 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006544495
- ISBN-13: 978-0006544494
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,398,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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"This beautifully translated collection contains some Mishima's finest stories, none of them previously collected in an English edition. In the moving title story, the loyal, self-effacing housemaid of a solitary professor-poet ferrets out the secret of his lifelong sadness. Jack, in 'Raisin Bread, ' a pill-popping failed suicide at 22, his 'sole aim to become quite invisible, ' is a 1950s anti-hero who seems very contemporary. A proud youth in 'Fountains in the Rain, ' breaking up with his girlfriend, becomes captivated by a splashing fountain, which we see as a symbol of his own flamboyant egotism. 'Sword, ' a sweaty plunge into the world of college fencing, pits youth vs. age, animal pleasure vs. mental rigor, muscular prowess vs. meditative rapture. The seven stories vary in tone and subject matter, yet each reveals Mishima's total control, his gift for striking imagery and psychological insight." -Publishers Weekly
"The acclaimed Mishima (1925-1970) is the best-known Jap
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
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Publishers Weekly
"Each reveals his total control, his gift for striking imagery and psychological insight."
--This text refers to an alternate
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First Sentence
The boy was tired of walking in the rain dragging the girl, heavy as a sandbag and weeping continually, around with him. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The boy was tired of walking in the rain dragging the girl, heavy as a sandbag and weeping continually, around with him. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Mishima the human alchemist distills, boils and then vaporises until the micro essence of alienated human psychology lies transparent and naked stripped of pretension.
These stories deal with elucidation or game playing. Deep emotionally frozen human beings interact within ice cold glares with the human hope of an eternal thaw. A series of vignettes of young people inhabiting bodies.
The commonality is the capture of brief emotional moments when reality pervades for seconds, only for these humanity shards to slither away into the sub strata of their beings. Barren bleak and without feeling, Masumura captured the same essence in cinemantic sterility. 1960's Japan, a time of economic every day is Xmas consumer overkill compensated for war defeat. Inside the being echoed the hollow walls of emptiness
Underneath trapped in fight or flight the Japanese psyche chose frozen. Beaten by the Emperor and smashed by the American war machine the population remained trapped in a psychological double bind. The essence of war trauma.
Mishima captures the zeitgeist in the stories but the appeal speaks louder to a world audience. Alienation and frozen feelings were not just the province of the vanquished. In the land of heroes the same emotional mechanisms unfolded.
Reappraisal of the man needs to be undertaken beyond his final act and the constant wrestling with sexual identity. The existential questions he asked and tried to answer lie far beyond the banal.
These stories deal with elucidation or game playing. Deep emotionally frozen human beings interact within ice cold glares with the human hope of an eternal thaw. A series of vignettes of young people inhabiting bodies.
The commonality is the capture of brief emotional moments when reality pervades for seconds, only for these humanity shards to slither away into the sub strata of their beings. Barren bleak and without feeling, Masumura captured the same essence in cinemantic sterility. 1960's Japan, a time of economic every day is Xmas consumer overkill compensated for war defeat. Inside the being echoed the hollow walls of emptiness
Underneath trapped in fight or flight the Japanese psyche chose frozen. Beaten by the Emperor and smashed by the American war machine the population remained trapped in a psychological double bind. The essence of war trauma.
Mishima captures the zeitgeist in the stories but the appeal speaks louder to a world audience. Alienation and frozen feelings were not just the province of the vanquished. In the land of heroes the same emotional mechanisms unfolded.
Reappraisal of the man needs to be undertaken beyond his final act and the constant wrestling with sexual identity. The existential questions he asked and tried to answer lie far beyond the banal.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Bespeak the author's rigid mentality
15 Nov 2002
Format:Paperback
Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories is an anthology of short stories by the internationally famous Japanese author Yukio Mishima, who is perhaps most notorious for his dramatic ritual suicide in 1970. Flawlessly translated into English by John Bester, the short stories include: Fountains in the Rain; Raisin Bread; Sword; Sea and Sunset; Cigarette; Martyrdom; and the title piece, Act of Worship, and bespeak the rigid mentality of one born and rigorously raised in the traditions of the samurai caste, long after the era of the samurai. Written with biting insight, sharp ruthlessness and a keen eye for just how much (or how little) human life is worth, Acts Of Worship documents Yukio Mishima as having been an undeniably strong and articulate voice in Japan's modern literary tradition.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Mixed Collection of Writing
2 Aug 2004
Format:Paperback
Contrary to what the translator claims in the introduction, based on this collection of short stories, Mishima Yukio's work as a novelist far exceeds in quality that of the short story writer. While some stories are quite good - "Acts of Worship," "Cigarette," and "Sword" come to mind - and demonstrate not only the thought but also the large amounts of research Mishima put into his writing, others only evince lukewarm sentiments or insights into the author's aesthetic tastes. While this in itself is certainly not enough to merit a "low rating," these same sentiments are more effectively conveyed in his novels.
Another complaint is that these stories are presented largely in an ahistorical way. That is, there is little reference to when Mishima wrote them, what he was experiencing at the time, and what the situation of Japan was like, socioeconomically. Understanding these concepts is crucial to understanding Mishima's motives and writing.
Another complaint is that these stories are presented largely in an ahistorical way. That is, there is little reference to when Mishima wrote them, what he was experiencing at the time, and what the situation of Japan was like, socioeconomically. Understanding these concepts is crucial to understanding Mishima's motives and writing.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Stories by a master of repression & madness
31 Mar 2009
Format:Paperback
This is a group of Mishima's stories, written between 1946 and 1965, and collected in 1989. He primarily wrote novels, but these stories demonstrate that he could write great short pieces too. I once loved his writing, but I now find a lot of it disturbing. Perhaps this is due to me finding his life and death disturbing - his intense narcissism, his political extremism, and his closeted bi or homosexuality. In his writing he seemed to be after some sort of purity and beauty, but he associated these things with violence and suicide. He lived a life of great success and achievement, but was never satisfied, and began to come unglued toward the end of his life. Still, there is no denying his power as a writer. He could write lines of perfect, radiant prose. He portrayed the subtle inner lives of repressed characters with great power and feeling.
A couple of these are early stories and not especially interesting, altho they do show the young writer beginning to exercise his talent. "Sword" is well written, and it showcases Mishima's fascination with kendo and youthful masculinity. "Sea and Sunset" is proof that Mishima had a great sense of humor, one that he did not show often enough. "Act of Worship" is the real masterpiece of the book, and shows Mishima at the height of his powers, doing what he does best - describing an uptight, repressed woman with the hots for a man who is out of her reach. In this case, an old maid becomes the housekeeper for a brilliant, wall-eyed old poetry professor, a man who commands great respect, but is deeply lonely. He describes their subtle communications and interactions brilliantly. This is worthwhile reading for fans, and a good place to start if you have never Mishima's stuff before.
A couple of these are early stories and not especially interesting, altho they do show the young writer beginning to exercise his talent. "Sword" is well written, and it showcases Mishima's fascination with kendo and youthful masculinity. "Sea and Sunset" is proof that Mishima had a great sense of humor, one that he did not show often enough. "Act of Worship" is the real masterpiece of the book, and shows Mishima at the height of his powers, doing what he does best - describing an uptight, repressed woman with the hots for a man who is out of her reach. In this case, an old maid becomes the housekeeper for a brilliant, wall-eyed old poetry professor, a man who commands great respect, but is deeply lonely. He describes their subtle communications and interactions brilliantly. This is worthwhile reading for fans, and a good place to start if you have never Mishima's stuff before.
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