The Decay of the Angel

The 4th part of what is essentially one long book. They are truly fascinating in their totality. Mishima himself seems to eminate from the pages, the words themselves representing his own intensity.

They are complicated books. After the first two books I thought I had Mishima pegged for one who was obsessed with Japanese purity and chose to demonize other modern distractions. Then in the third book you get a wild romp of mysticism and eroticism. In this final volume, there is cynicism, reflection, and an attempt to circumvent fate that seems to serve as a metaphor for Japanese culture that I, as an American, can't quite articulate.

Overall, these books deliver a wide-ranging examination of existence set during 80 years of Japanese history. Mishima's striking voice creates a powerful text that is as good as any of the world literature classics I have read.