Star - Yukio Mishima

A haunting novella of fame and disillusionment by a Japanese literary icon n n All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention.

They would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells action; Rikio, for a moment, 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. n n Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existence comes sharply into focus.

With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there ever any escape from how we are seen by others? n