By Yukio Mishima
SPOILERS
A band of thirteen-year-old boys reject the stupidity of the adult world. They decide it is illusory, hypocritical and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call ‘objectivity’. When the mother of one of them begins an affair with a ship’s officer, he and his friends idealise the man at first, but it is not long before they conclude that he is, in fact, soft and romantic. They regard this disillusionment as an act of betrayal on his part – and the retribution is deliberate and horrifying.
REVIEW
THEMES: DARK, DISTURBING, CLASSIC, MEDIUM-PACED.
Warning; animal abuse, incestuous behaviours and gore.
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea follows a single mother and her son, Noboru. The dynamic between the two is complex and unconventional – which only becomes more bizarre once his mother meets Ryuji, an experienced sailor. Noboru and his friends start to develop a set of expectations on how people should behave, and unfortunately Ryuji is not meeting his criteria.
This is such a strange book, it makes you wonder what the author experienced to even think to write it. It is not a ‘horror’, per say, but at times reads like one.
The characters are interesting. Noboru and his friends are the epitome of childish arrogance, with their self-assured dogmatic views. It perfectly captures that time of youth when you think you know everything and it makes me cringe. However, their emphasis on male behaviours was an unexpected surprise. They set such rigid standards for how men should perform in society, and if they don’t act accordingly, they consider it unheroic- which is not what I would have anticipated from a group of young boys.
His mother brings some much-needed normality to the book, nicely evening out all the absurdity. I found it interesting that she is the only main character who remains nameless. The boyfriend of the mother, Ryuji, is my favourite character. It is clear that he is simply making the best out of a strange situation and is a kind person. Though, his lenient response to Noboru spying on his mother was disturbing – though, what is more horrifying is the fact that Noboru wanted to be punished.
The plot is intense and confronting – a child spying on his mother through a peephole, mercilessly beating a cat and murdering his mother’s boyfriend. Somehow, I felt nowhere near as bleak as I have with other books, that are far less severe.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, despite the disturbing content. I would recommend to horror readers – or someone who has an interest in books that feature peculiar family dynamics.
Click link below for Storygraph overview, which includes general rating, summary (same as above) and other reviews.
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