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Product Description
Product Description
Written when Mishima was only twentysix, Forbidden Colors is a depiction of a male homosexual relationship, in which a rich older man buys the love of a young man who is stunningly handsome but who lacks the ability to love. As in Mann's Death in Venice, the older man's longing for the beauty of youth is associated with aestheticism and death.
About the Author
Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) is considered by many critics as the most important Japanese novelist of the 20th century. Mishima's works include 40 novels, poetry, essays, and modern Kabuki and Noh dramas. He was three times nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature. Among his masterpieces is The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956). The tetralogy The Sea of Fertility (1965-70) is regarded by many as Mishima's most lasting achievement.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Japan's great novelist, Yukio Mishima it as the height of his formidable form in this magnificent book. A tale of revenge of Borgiaesque dimensions, it tells how an embittered old man uses a beautiful young man to revenge himself vicariously on the gender which he feels have ruined his life. It sounds appalling - and it is, but it is the magnificent elegance of the prose style and the superb poise of the narrative that makes it so delicious an experience. The inspiration for any number of pale imitations in any number of genres, "Forbidden Colours" is an important, unforgettable and brutally beautiful novel. Once you finish this, you will be a Mishima acolyte for life. Like you should be.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A hauntingly brutal story where the currency of human obsession is exploited within an almost Shakespearean construction. The translation of the prose renders gorgeous, poetic passages that require second readings. Occasionally, my lack of understanding of the intricacies of Japanese society left me questioning motives of central characters, but this did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this fabulous, sumptuously distasteful, intriguing novel. Highly recommended. A Mishima convert!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A disturbing novel of sexual manipulation
7 July 1998
Format:Paperback
Yukio Mishima has written a strange and disquieting novel concerning a bitter old man who uses a beautiful youth as a narcisstic cold conqueror of the woman who left him. In turn, this 'cold conqueror' becomes so enamored with himself that he gets caught up in a web of sexual duality. This would be an ideal film project for controversial Japanese director Nagisa Oshima. For those not offended by a rather lurid study of bisexuality and revenge.
Into the Mind and Life of Mishima
5 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback
Yuichi, a beautiful homosexual youth, is manipulated by the ugly, aging author Shunsuke to extract a bizarre revenge on women who have scorned him. Yuichi, as he comes to enjoy his powers of seduction over women he detests and delves deeper into Tokyo's gay scene, loses himself with his own Narcissism...
Though-as with all Mishima's work- this is a work of art,it is certainly no comfortable fireside read.Ahead of its time,its detailed account of the gay subculture and sex may not have the impact it did 40 plus years ago, but it still is influential. The term 'Gei' may well have become corrupted to the English 'Gay' and explain how the term came about.
The true interest in this book is that it reveals much about Mishima himself. He was a homosexual with a particular liking for beautiful boys and wealded enormous manipulative power over these young men (notably those who assisted in his 'coup' and suicide by Hiri Kiri)
And the book overflows with Mishima's obsession on beauty and art. I'm always reminded of a parable Mishima wrote in-I think-'The Sailor who fell from Grace...' where a young student sleeps overnight in a clearing and drank the most delicious water from a pool. It was night and he could not see. On awakening he saw the water was pooled in a skull which made him retch,the enigma being that why should this be when the same water was beautiful the night before. This riddle runs through Mishima's work and his philosophies of beauty and ugliness.
Again, this is no pleasant book to curl up next to the fire with, but for Mishima devotees or people curious of this enigmatic man, its an insight into his disturbed life and mind.
Though-as with all Mishima's work- this is a work of art,it is certainly no comfortable fireside read.Ahead of its time,its detailed account of the gay subculture and sex may not have the impact it did 40 plus years ago, but it still is influential. The term 'Gei' may well have become corrupted to the English 'Gay' and explain how the term came about.
The true interest in this book is that it reveals much about Mishima himself. He was a homosexual with a particular liking for beautiful boys and wealded enormous manipulative power over these young men (notably those who assisted in his 'coup' and suicide by Hiri Kiri)
And the book overflows with Mishima's obsession on beauty and art. I'm always reminded of a parable Mishima wrote in-I think-'The Sailor who fell from Grace...' where a young student sleeps overnight in a clearing and drank the most delicious water from a pool. It was night and he could not see. On awakening he saw the water was pooled in a skull which made him retch,the enigma being that why should this be when the same water was beautiful the night before. This riddle runs through Mishima's work and his philosophies of beauty and ugliness.
Again, this is no pleasant book to curl up next to the fire with, but for Mishima devotees or people curious of this enigmatic man, its an insight into his disturbed life and mind.
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