Beautiful Star - Penguin Modern Classics
Beautiful Star - Penguin Modern Classics
paperback | English
Published:
6 July, 2023
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Description
'Interplanetary, quite extraordinary . . . awash with dark humour and scenes of intense beauty' Financial Times
'One of the greatest avant-garde Japanese writers of the twentieth century' New Yorker
Beautiful Star is a 1962 tale of family, love, nuclear war and UFOs, and was considered by Mishima to be one of his very best books.
Translated into English for the first time, this atmospheric black comedy tells the story of the Osugi family, who come to the sudden realization that each of them hails from a different planet: Father from Mars, mother from Jupiter, son from Mercury and daughter from Venus. This extra-terrestrial knowledge brings them closer together, and convinces them that they have a mission: to find others of their kind, and save humanity from the imminent threat of the atomic bomb...
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780241441091 |
| ISBN10 | 0241441099 |
| Number Of Pages | 288 |
| Item Weight | 216 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 197 x 16 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
Mishima is the Japanese Hemingway * Life Magazine *
Strikingly different... Stephen Dodd's translation captures Mishima's dark humour, succinct style and dry wit -- Vanora Bennett * The Times Literary Supplement *
A brilliant black comedy following the Osugi family, who come to the understanding that they are each from a different planet. This new knowledge strengthens their bond while solidifying a mission: to seek others of their kind and save humanity from the looming threat of the atomic bomb. This is an insightful, moving read. Mishima deserves a wider readership -- Irenosen Okojie * The i *
Set in the early 1960s, this bonkers story of aliens trying to save mankind from nuclear war is told from the perspective of one family, all of whom come from a different planet. It's a biting social satire that's utterly transporting * Sunday Times Best Books for Summer 2023 *
Ordinary people harbour the grandest (and most terrible) thoughts in a cosmological fable as disconcerting as it is funny: behind the simplest actions lie visions of worlds in collision -- Simon Ings * The Times *
The Oscar Wilde of Japan ... one of Japan's great novelists ... his subtlety, warmth and wit shine through * Telegraph *
A mixture of humour, high literary seriousness and flying saucers ... remarkable -- Sam Leith * Spectator *
A writer of immense energy and ability * Time Out *
One of the greatest avant-garde Japanese writers of the twentieth century * New Yorker *
Among Japan's most celebrated post-war authors * Little White Lies *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Yukio Mishima was born in 1925 in Tokyo, and is considered one of the Japan's most important writers. His books broke social boundaries and taboos at a time when Japan found itself in a state of rapid social change. His interests, besides writing, included body-building, acting and practising as a Samurai. In 1970 he attempted to start a military coup, which failed. Upon realizing this, Mishima performed seppuku, a ritual suicide, upon himself. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature three times.