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*Yukio Mishima - Star* (book)

 Star is a short story by japanese writer Yukio Mishima originally published in 1960 and the english version in 2019.


A powerful and engaging analysis of fame and the anxieties and insecurities that may come along with it. The story centers around Rikio "Richie" Mizuno, a young movie star that is frequently typecasted as a hardened yakuza in crime films. Despite the fame and the adulation of thousands of female fans, Rikio feels disillusioned with the film industry and even his own fame. Mishima manages to weave a tale with mastery that constanly switches from Rikio, the rich and famous young star and the characters he plays in movies. 

This story was overshadowed by other Mishima's works but it retains the ground in a beautiful and exquisite meditation about existence and death from one of Japan's most influential and charismatic authors of the postwar era.

Hypnotic and mesmerizing in its own right, it's an interesting read from this writer whose life was as tribulated as some of his stories and characters. 




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