Star

By Yukio Mishima

All eyes are on Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer, 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. Being a star, constantly performing, being watched and scrutinized as if under a microscope, is often a drag. But so is life. 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. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there any escape from how we are seen by others?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811228428
• ISBN13: 9780811228428
• Release Date: April 2019
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.4" x 7.0"