Masterpiece in the Mail

I haven't sent this yet, Norm, but I will be sending it soon. I know you have too much to do and read, but I found this book serendipitously enough, and was able to support the independent Phoenix Books in San Luis Obispo by purchasing it.

I only wanted to post about it after I mailed it, but that didn't work out. Yo:

I'd dragged Corrie into Phoenix Books on Monterrey without any idea about buying anything. Sometimes, things tell me they want to be purchased. Nearly done with the visit, I glanced down at the table with the newest stuff in, the stuff that had yet to be filed away. If you're looking for old Pynchon or old Denis Johnson, that's where'd you look since it wouldn't last long (unless it's Vineland).

Staring up at me was this copy of The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, a tightly wound look at the homicidal tension that Mishima feels is at the base of the Japanese psyche. One of the three main characters, a thirteen year old boy, is named Noboru, which is the same name of the antagonist from Murakami's Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

The book revolves around a wealthy widow, her son, a sailor with whom she has an affair. I don;t want to ruin too much, but it is very taut and has some gruesome scenes, and Mishima's theory about the fundamental violence at the base of the Japanese is executed well here. Also, as a writer myself, I really do enjoy Mishima's ability to seamlessly shift between points-of-view in scene, and be able to keep each character's secret thoughts authentic and distinct.

Do you remember Corrie's cousin, Josh? His wife, Elizabeth, had a copy of this book at their house in Beacon, and I saw it and told I was reading the exact book, pulling out my copy to show her. She had many Yukio Mishima books, and said that this one, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, was her favorite. It is quite excellent, if slight.