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Mishima, Yukio. Spring Snow. Trans. Michael Gallagher. New York: Vintage, 1972. 389 pgs. The Japanese writer Yukio Mishima is able to describe the seeds of a dark, destructive, and erotic passion that leads to a tragic end in Spring Snow. When I first started reading this novel, it was difficult to follow because there was little tension in the plot, but as the action rose to a climax by the end of the novel, I was deeply moved. Mishima's has an eye for detail and captures the beauty of the Japanese landscape while evoking the serenity and sublimity of the Japanese tradition of Zen Buddhism. The main character in this novel, Kiyoaki, the son of a Marquis, falls in love with Ayakura Satoko, the daughter of a Count whose hand is promised to a royal prince. Taking place in Tokyo in 1912 during the decline of the ancient Japanese aristocracy and during a period in which many Japanese imitate the fashions of the West, Spring Snow is a romantic novel that is not worth missing. Mishima's flowing prose describes the true agony of a man in love yearning to be reunited with the one he loves: "Although everything had one single message for him--be it every hour, every morning, every noon and night, or the sky, the trees, the coulds and wind all telling him to give her up--he was still tormented by uncertainty. He felt a desperate need to lay hands on one thing at least that was for sure and for certain, to hear no more than a single word from her own lips...." (364). To purchase this book, please click the following link: | |||
