Star (Penguin Modern)

A haunting novella of fame and disillusionment by a Japanese literary icon

All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from aroped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention. Theywould kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up theshot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for amoment, 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 acelebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existencecomes sharply into focus. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there ever any escape from how we are seen by others?

Reviews

A startlingly modern, hypervisual jewel; it could be a really interesting movie. It was mesmerizing, seeming to fall in my hands from an alternative sky.