0
    • Close Modal
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image Look inside

    The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

    Part of Vintage International

    Author Yukio Mishima
    Translated by John Nathan
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $17.00 US
    Knopf | Vintage
    5.18"W x 7.98"H x 0.53"D   | 6 oz | 24 per carton
    On sale May 31, 1994 | 192 Pages | 9780679750154
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    A novel from "one of the outstanding writers of the world” (The New York Times) that explores the vicious nature of youth that is sometimes mistaken for innocence. • “A major work of art.” —Time

    Thirteen-year-old Noboru is a member of a gang of highly philosophical teenage boys who reject the tenets of the adult world — to them, adult life is illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental. When Noboru’s widowed mother is romanced by Ryuji, a sailor, Noboru is thrilled. He idolizes this rugged man of the sea as a hero. But his admiration soon turns to hatred, as Ryuji forsakes life onboard the ship for marriage, rejecting everything Noboru holds sacred. Upset and appalled, he and his friends respond to this apparent betrayal with a terrible ferocity.
    “Brilliant in the conciseness of its narrative.”
    —The Nation

    “A major work of art.”
    —Time
     
    “Mishima is like Stendhal in his precise psychological analyses, like Dostoevsky in his explorations of darkly destructive personalities.”
    —Christian Science Monitor
    Yukio Mishima was born in Tokyo in 1925. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University’s School of Jurisprudence in 1947. His first published book, The Forest in Full Bloom, appeared in 1944, and he established himself as a major author with Confessions of a Mask (1949). From then until his death, he continued to publish novels, short stories, and plays each year. His crowning achievement, The Sea of Fertility tetralogy—which contains the novels Spring Snow (1969), Runaway Horses (1969), The Temple of Dawn (1970), and The Decay of the Angel (1971)—is considered one of the definitive works of twentieth-century Japanese fiction. In 1970, at the age of forty-five and the day after completing the last novel in the Fertility series, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide)—a spectacular death that attracted worldwide attention. View titles by Yukio Mishima

    About

    A novel from "one of the outstanding writers of the world” (The New York Times) that explores the vicious nature of youth that is sometimes mistaken for innocence. • “A major work of art.” —Time

    Thirteen-year-old Noboru is a member of a gang of highly philosophical teenage boys who reject the tenets of the adult world — to them, adult life is illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental. When Noboru’s widowed mother is romanced by Ryuji, a sailor, Noboru is thrilled. He idolizes this rugged man of the sea as a hero. But his admiration soon turns to hatred, as Ryuji forsakes life onboard the ship for marriage, rejecting everything Noboru holds sacred. Upset and appalled, he and his friends respond to this apparent betrayal with a terrible ferocity.

    Praise

    “Brilliant in the conciseness of its narrative.”
    —The Nation

    “A major work of art.”
    —Time
     
    “Mishima is like Stendhal in his precise psychological analyses, like Dostoevsky in his explorations of darkly destructive personalities.”
    —Christian Science Monitor

    Author

    Yukio Mishima was born in Tokyo in 1925. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University’s School of Jurisprudence in 1947. His first published book, The Forest in Full Bloom, appeared in 1944, and he established himself as a major author with Confessions of a Mask (1949). From then until his death, he continued to publish novels, short stories, and plays each year. His crowning achievement, The Sea of Fertility tetralogy—which contains the novels Spring Snow (1969), Runaway Horses (1969), The Temple of Dawn (1970), and The Decay of the Angel (1971)—is considered one of the definitive works of twentieth-century Japanese fiction. In 1970, at the age of forty-five and the day after completing the last novel in the Fertility series, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide)—a spectacular death that attracted worldwide attention. View titles by Yukio Mishima

    Other books in this series

    Other Books by this Author

    Related Articles

    Adults Children's General All Gift Blog

    Live Inspired with Compendium: Now Available from PRH!

    Exciting news! Compendium has joined the Penguin Random House family, bringing a proven line of bestselling, sentiment-driven gifts to our extensive and ever-growing catalog. Since 1985, Compendium has been creating meaningful moments with beautiful, thoughtfully made gifts that center connection and celebrate occasions both big and small. From greeting cards to inspirational books to impulse-friendly add-ons, Compendium

    Read more

    Live Inspired with Compendium: Now Available from PRH!

    Adults Children's General All Gift Blog

    Penguin Random House Retail

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)