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Runaway Horses

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( 8,770 ratings, 774 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Runaway Horses by Yukio Mishima is the second book in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy. Set in early 1930s Japan, it follows Isao Iinuma, a fervently nationalistic young man, who is drawn into a plot to overthrow the government. The novel explores themes of honour, dedication, and the clash between modernity and traditional values as Isao grapples with his ideals and the consequences of his actions.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you enjoy stories that delve into themes of honour, tradition, and the struggle between modernity and classic values, this book offers a compelling narrative. Set in 1930s Japan, it follows a young idealist committed to the path of the samurai, exploring the clash between ambition and the harsh realities of life. Fans of historical fiction and philosophical exploration will likely find this a thought-provoking read.

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Isao is a young, engaging patriot, and a fanatical believer in the ancient samurai ethos. He turns terrorist, organising a violent plot against the new industrialists, who he believes are threatening the integrity of Japan and usurping the Emperor's rightful power.

The second novel in Mishima's masterful Sea of Fertility tetraology

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The second novel in Mishima's masterful Sea of Fertility tetralogy.

Runaway Horses is the second book in Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy. It is a story of political violence, traditional samurai values, and nihilism.

Isao is a young, engaging patriot and a fanatical believer in the ancient samurai ethos. He turns terrorist, organising a violent plot against the new industrialists, whom he believes are threatening the integrity of Japan and usurping the Emperor's rightful power. As the conspiracy unfolds and unravels, Mishima brilliantly chronicles the conflicts of a decade that saw the fabric of Japanese life torn apart.

Runaway Horses is described as disturbing material and a harbinger of Mishima's own act of "patriotic" self-slaughter... Strange, elegant, erotic (Guardian).

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Yukio Mishima's Runaway Horses explores the profound desire to preserve beauty at its peak to prevent its inevitable decline. The book is praised as a part of Mishima's significant tetralogy dealing with themes of death, sexuality, and samurai ethics, reflecting on Japan's socio-cultural transformations through the 20th century. The novel is recognised for blending Eastern and Western traditions with a unique and compelling intensity, establishing Mishima as a leading figure in 20th-century literature.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099282891

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 March 1999

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 195.0mm

Weight: 296g

Pages: 432

About the Author

Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of forty-five.

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