- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited; New edition edition
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0870118242
- ISBN-13: 978-0870118241
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 10.9 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,383,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Inside This Book
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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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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bespeak the author's rigid mentality,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories (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.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Colorful.,
By pfearn@bcm.tmc.edu (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Acts of Worship: Seven Stories (Paperback)
This a great collection to get a sense of Mishima's imaginative spectrum of characters and themes. Death and the adolescent psyche are common themes.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bespeak the author's rigid mentality,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories (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
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Mixed Collection of Writing,
By RLS - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories (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. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stories by a master of repression & madness,
By T. Burrows - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acts Of Worship: Seven Stories (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. |
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