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Star

By Yukio Mishima
Penguin Classics
Series: Penguin Modern
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.57 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 5,364 ratings, 677 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
Star is a mesmerizing novella that explores the life of Rikio, a young celebrity caught between the dazzling glare of fame and his own inner turmoil. As cameras roll and fans scream for his attention, Rikio transforms into a hardened character for the screen, only to be overwhelmed by his anxieties once the spotlight fades. Written by Yukio Mishima shortly after his own film experience, the story offers a vivid psychological portrait of stardom’s isolating absurdity and questions whether one can ever escape the gaze of others.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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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?

Ideal for readers of literary fiction and Japanese literature enthusiasts intrigued by psychological character studies and the darker side of fame.

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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

For the first time in English, a glittering novella about stardom and disillusionment.

All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention. They would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions.

Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existence comes sharply into focus. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question— is there ever any escape from how we are seen by others?

Series: Penguin Modern

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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?

A stunning addition to Yukio Mishima’s work, Star showcases his trademark monstrous, compulsive imagery and tragic sensibility, drawing comparisons to Hemingway. Critics have praised its rich prose and modern, cinematic quality, with commentary describing it as a hypervisual jewel and a captivating meditation on identity and celebrity.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241383476

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Jonathan Samuel Bett
  • Translated by Sam Bett

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 112.0mm

Height: 160.0mm

Weight: 65g

Pages: 96

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics Penguin Classics: General Fiction Series: Penguin Modern Yukio Mishima

About the Author

Yukio Mishima (Author) 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. Sam Bett (Translator) Sam Bett is a fiction writer and Japanese translator. A winner of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize, he has translated work by Osamu Dazai, Izumi Suzuki, Yukio Mishima, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Mieko Kawakami, including books shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the International Booker Prize. As the translator of The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani, he was awarded a CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. Sam is also a recipient of the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

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