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Rating: 
Summary: Please do not "See just the trees, but not the forest"
Review: "See just the trees, but not the forest" is an old Chinese saying, meaning to comprehend, and thus evaluate, things only from partial angles and views. To assess/critic, even compare any one of the 4 "Sea of Fertility" novels is to do just that. The 4 novels are all part of a grand design in a way very much like 4 movements from a symphony. Yes each novel stands on its own as a great literature accomplishment, but so does each movement of any symphony by Beethoven or Mahler. Now, I am not a write or a literature critic in any shape or form, but I have read the complete "Sea of Fertility" twice before, and am onto "Runaway Horses" for the third time now. Just want to remind every one that, these novels are not meant to be read individually.
Rating:
Summary: culmination of the tetralogy
Review: "Spring Snow" was brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful.
"Runaway Horses" was Spartan, brave and controversial.
"Temple of Dawn" was somewhat boring, but decadent in an atractive sort of way.
Here comes the last part, which is a real culmination of the tetralogy. It is intellectually stimulating, highly mystical and very personal. Is it also very sad and pessimistic. It is a book about death and nihilism. Main characters are brilliant. It is of course Honda - the man of Reason, who is more real and attractive and complete as a person than in any previous book, but also a rich hedonistic lesbian destroyed by old age, Toru - the last reincarnation of Kiyoaki, who lost all his powers of uncompromising life and beauty, mad ugly girl, who believes she is very beautiful, mysterios enlightened Satoko, and the main protagonist of the novel - Japan the Great that greadualy lost her uniqueness and tradition and spirit during the infamous XX century and now is close to death.
Particulary powerful is the scene when Honda visits beach made famous by ancient No play about the decay of the angel, and discovers that this harmonic holy place is desecrated by tourists with countless fast-food bags and Cola cans scattered all over it. Also the last few pages is the very best ending I've ever read.
And dont forget about translation. Seidensticker is really superior to any other translator from Japanese to English.
Rating:
Summary: culmination of the tetralogy
Review: "Spring Snow" was brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful.
"Runaway Horses" was Spartan, brave and controversial.
"Temple of Dawn" was somewhat boring, but decadent in an atractive sort of way.Here comes the last part, which is a real culmination of the tetralogy. It is intellectually stimulating, highly mystical and very personal. Is it also very sad and pessimistic. It is a book about death and nihilism. Main characters are brilliant. It is of course Honda - the man of Reason, who is more real and attractive and complete as a person than in any previous book, but also a rich hedonistic lesbian destroyed by old age, Toru - the last reincarnation of Kiyoaki, who lost all his powers of uncompromising life and beauty, mad ugly girl, who believes she is very beautiful, mysterios enlightened Satoko, and the main protagonist of the novel - Japan the Great that greadualy lost her uniqueness and tradition and spirit during the infamous XX century and now is close to death. Particulary powerful is the scene when Honda visits beach made famous by ancient No play about the decay of the angel, and discovers that this harmonic holy place is desecrated by tourists with countless fast-food bags and Cola cans scattered all over it. Also the last few pages is the very best ending I've ever read. And dont forget about translation. Seidensticker is really superior to any translator from Japanese to English.
Rating:
Summary: Please do not "See just the trees, but not the forest"
Review: "See just the trees, but not the forest" is an old Chinese saying, meaning to comprehend, and thus evaluate, things only from partial angles and views. To assess/critic, even compare any one of the 4 "Sea of Fertility" novels is to do just that. The 4 novels are all part of a grand design in a way very much like 4 movements from a symphony. Yes each novel stands on its own as a great literature accomplishment, but so does each movement of any symphony by Beethoven or Mahler. Now, I am not a write or a literature critic in any shape or form, but I have read the complete "Sea of Fertility" twice before, and am onto "Runaway Horses" for the third time now. Just want to remind every one that, these novels are not meant to be read individually.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: CONFESSIONS OF A MASK *****
THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA *****
THE GOLDEN TEMPLE *****
SPRING SNOW ****
RUNAWAY HORSES *****
THE TEMPLE OF DAWN ***
THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL *****
Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: CONFESSIONS OF A MASK *****
THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA *****
THE GOLDEN TEMPLE *****
SPRING SNOW ****
RUNAWAY HORSES *****
THE TEMPLE OF DAWN ***
THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL *****
Rating:
Summary: Staggering
Review: I must admit, I didn't really like this book that much at first. I felt as if Mishima's depiction of Toru (the 'incarnation' this time around), with all the hyper-intelligent, will-to-power stuff, was teetering on the brink of self-parody, especially in an extended first-person section taken from his journal, in which he comes across as a more malevolent version of the narrator of Temple of the Golden Pavilion. And then too the fact that he's just so over-the-top demonic didn't make it any easier to take the narrative entirely seriously. Honda, elevated to the lead part in this and the previous book after supporting roles in the first two, is still an indelible character, but it wasn't really enough, and I was all prepared to give it a rather sour three-star rating. However...however. In the last thirty or so pages, Mishima, in a single blinding burst, turns the entire text upside-down, and ends up by undermining the foundation of the entire Sea of Fertility. I know that seems like a narrative cliché-big plot twists in the end that force one to re-evaluate the entire work-but this, I think it's safe to say, is unlike any other instance of the device that you've ever seen, and Mishima pulls it off brilliantly. I cannot overstate the awe in which I was left. Small wonder he ritually disemboweled himself afterwards-how could you write something like this and go on living? I may not buy into his brand of cosmic nihilism, but that's not important. What matters is, this is the work of a genius at the top of its game. I don't suppose it needs my recommendation, since if you've read the other three books you're not likely to just leave it at that, but I will nonetheless put all my powers of persuasion behind it. Not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning ending to a brilliant, important, tetralogy.
Review: This book is the concluding part to the Sea of Fertility quartet by Mishima--generally considered his magnum opus. As an individual book it is inferior in characterisation, plot strength and beauty of expression than Spring Snow and the third book but better than Runaway Horses (book 2). However the ending is so stunning and original that it leaves one mentally exhausted and yet thrilled. The ending turns the whole story so far (from Book 1) on its head and for that reason I will not disclose it. Suffice it to say that of all the books I have read this has the most unexpected and mind-bending ending. I was left in awe! In conclusion it is a fitting ending to a most brilliant quartet of novels for those readers who want more from their novels than just a story. This quartet deals with the most important ideas of human existence and is very challenging yet what makes it unique is Mishima's magical, poetic, and mesmerising control of language and diction. Engaging, thrilling, difficult, philosophical, beautiful, brilliant.
(The quartet as a whole is 5 stars, this book on its own I would give 4 stars.)
Rating: 
Summary: Frustratingly Good
Review: While Spring Snow remains my favourite book in this amazing series, The Decay of the Angel is the most... elusive. Mishima's message decays right along side his characters, and that in itself is a work of great artistry. To introduce us to interesting, well realized characters and to slowly over the course of four books degrade them and pull them out of the realm of literature into a kind of near-tabloid reality is as cunning as it is disturbing. This book has a lot going for it and it has a strong message, but what exactly that message is remains to be seen. Trivia fact: After mailing the manuscript for this book Mishima led a failed nationalist uprising and comitted ritual seppuku following his failure. (Or maybe just to save himself having to asnwer: "what does this mean?!"
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