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Title: Mishima's most accessible novel
Review: Fifteen years ago I read this while on a Jap. lit. binge; I have since read all of Mishima's novels available in English (are there others not translated?), and this one remains one of my top two with Temple of the Golden Pavilion. I just re-read it over the past two days, and it has not lost any of its appeal.The characters and setting are reminiscent of Steinbeck, as in The Pearl, The Red Pony, and Tortilla Flats, yet the narrative has a pathos and philosophical sensitivity that provide insight into a deeper Japanese identity crisis as one prominent review detailed earlier. With a light touch of classic Mishima eroticism, this is an engaging read of the "root for the good guy" type.
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