Runaway Horses (Sea of Fertility)

Rating:
Summary: Please do not "See just the tree, 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: Please do not "See just the tree, 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: Mishima-----a master craftsman.
Review: Mishima is undoubtedly a fine writer. His technique and style are amazing. He can even make a two page description of kimono fabric interesting to an NFL linebacker! Many will certainly question the motivation of his writing (a return to samurai codes [Bushido], restoration of emperor, expelling all things western from Japan, etc.), but they cannot deny the accurate portrait Mishima paints of a mid-20th century Japan that is straddling the lines between traditional culture (buddhism/shinto/etc.) and western industrialization. Mishima takes a grand-scale problem and puts it into a specific setting. Obviously readers that have an understanding of the greater context of Japanese history from the mid-20th century will appreciate this novel more. I do think, however, that even someone that couldn't point to Japan on a map, but likes good writing and story-telling will be able to appreciate the book on those merits alone. While not as enjoyable as the first installment of the "Sea of Fertility" tetrology, it is an enjoyable book.

Rating:
Summary: Standalone
Review: No book sums up the austere, starkly proud side of Mishima's personality like Runaway Horses. Though it was written as part of the tetralogy and engineered stylistically and thematically for that purpose, it embodies its purpose, I think, better than any of the other three.

The style accentuates the theme. It's written in a more economical, less meandering way than Spring Snow, and the characters are more dynamic and quickly (though not sloppily) drawn. It has in common with Spring Snow an absolute mastery of the language, with no unneccesary details or sentences.

The character of Isao embodies the theme of patriotism without seeming to become its tool. He has a distinct personality, and it can be seen how his ideals stem from and compliment his inclinations. It never feels as though Mishima is putting words in his mouth (partly, though, because he is so much an aspect of Mishima). Some of his speeches are worth recording.

The final scene is masterfully described. The novel rises to a pitch and maintains it, painfully and beautifully, ending with one incredible sentence: "As he plunged the knife into his stomach, the sun exploded behind his eyelids."

Rating:
Summary: Most definitely _not_ as good as the first.
Review: Spring Snow, the first novel in the Sea of Fertility cycle, is one of the best books ever written. Not only is it a book that everyone should read, it is a book that everyone should own a hardcover copy of. Runaway Horses, the second novel in the cycle, is nowhere near the level of Spring Snow. Oh, Mishima is still a great writer; his style is impeccable, and his poetic descriptions are still to die for. It's the premise of the book that I'm not too fond of. Succinctly, it's about a nationalist fanatic who hatches a plot to "purify" Japan of bad influences. It's not as frightening as it sounds, but it is pretty bad. Now, it's not that Mishima necessarily approved of the means his character Isao would adopt in this book, but a _lot_ of praise is lavished upon the "purity" of Isao's ideals. And this I completely disagreed with. The "purity" of Isao's ideals boils down to a death wish and a fanatical desire to kill himself in a glamorous fashion. Isao is not acting for the sake of Japan because he does not know Japan - he has lived all his life generally sheltered from the grim reality that he talks about (sheltered, as it turns out, due to the money of the corrupt people that he hates), and he is not at all in contact with the Japanese people. He's in love with an illusion, an ideal out of a book. Mishima doesn't quite present him as an object of worship, but he does make it clear that Isao is to be admired. He even links Isao to Spring Snow by presenting the recurring assertion that Isao is a reincarnation of that novel's protagonist, Kiyoaki. This I greatly resent. Kiyoaki's passion was disturbingly beautiful, the noblest and most selfless that is possible on earth. Isao's passion is just disturbing, period. For instance, Isao is fixed upon the idea of killing one Busuke Kurahara, a rich capitalist who is in his view responsible for all the evils in Japan. But Mishima very conspicuously does not corroborate this view; Kurahara only appears at length in only one scene, and there he hardly comes across as someone deserving of Isao's (or the reader's) vicious hatred. Things like that come up from time to time, and are so obvious that one might think they're deliberately there, that Mishima does not really lend his approval to his character. Bit of a mental puzzle, that one.

Those of you who may be expecting the sensuous descriptions from Spring Snow to return in Runaway Horses will be mightily disappointed. There are only a few appearances by _any_ women in this manly book, and most of them are by Isao's friend Makiko. However, these few scattered parts are truly great, truly on the level of Spring Snow. For instance: "The woman's face floating in its dark seclusion, no name yet attached to it, had the character of a mysterious, lovely apparition. It was like the scent of the fragrant olive which, as one walks along a path at night, tells of the blossoms before one sees them. . . . Because of her hidden name, because of the agreement not to speak that name, she was transmuted into a marvelous essence, like a moonflower, its supporting vine invisible, floating high up in the darkness." (207) Yes. Oh yes indeed.

Of course, any book would seem a bit anemic after Spring Snow. And make no mistake: I do not at all wish that he had written Spring Snow II (since that wouldn't have been at all good) instead of this. But Runaway Horses, or at least a large part of it, leaves me cold, and that's that. It certainly has its good parts - for instance, the thread about Honda's life (remember Honda? he was Kiyoaki's best friend in Spring Snow) and its development was enthralling, and I wished that Mishima had bothered to develop it more instead of gushing with praise for Isao. Even in the end, when Honda plays an important role, he is in fact largely relegated to the background, prominence being given to Isao's speech about his utterly undefined, abstract and impenetrable ideals. I'd also have liked to learn more about Lieutenant Hori, or Isao's mother Mine, or anyone at all other than Isao, really, but that wasn't happening. And Isao does not change; he basically remains the exact same person throughout the book. Keep in mind that Mishima does not necessarily approve of him - there is a _lot_ of ambiguity as to this - but the fact remains that most of the book is spent on Isao. I'm still glad I read Runaway Horses, but it has somewhat tempered my enthusiasm to read the remaining two books of the tetralogy. You should probably read it too, but you won't be likely to come back to it too often.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant masterpiece on its own...
Review: The Runaway Horse has been criticized unfairly for its glorification of nationalistic and even fascist views. The word Kamikaze has become such a taboo in the modern western world that anything that touches even slightly on the subject would be condemned.

In this amazing book, Isao symbolizes the purity of life. All that's good is pure, and all that's pure is good. Thus is the belief of Isao, and eventually, of Mishima himself as evident of his suicide in 1970. Having said that, I do not expect this book to be understood by its English readers. The translation proves to be a great barrier but more importantly, the philosophy that is the core of this particular book is too distant for the modern Japanese readers, let alone readers in North America who have been sheltered from different cultures.

Runaway Horse describes meaning of the true Japanese samurai, or at least of what Mishima believes it is. A samurai is not after his own glory or achievements. His only goal is to be loyal to the Emperor and to God. He is a mere servant of these goals and his life could and should be given up to the Emperor upon request. Isao believes that the blade and the blood of the corrupt politicians will be a wake-up call to the Emperor to restore feudal Japan. Although naive and violent at times, Isao is a one-dimensional human being that follows the human goal of "being yourself", Being true to yourself is an impossible task for most people, and therefore Isao is the idealized human being. It also reflects the Japanese philosophy of simplicity. The problems of the modern day world are so complex that only the simplest actions would resolve them, complex actions would not only take time to execute, but would entangle the matters even more.

This book also displays the obsession with beauty that Mishima has. In his mind, beauty is worth giving up your life for. His ideas of beauty are expressed with the most sensuous and colorful images shaped by adjective upon adjectives. Mishima's writing style, especially when it involves this matter, is not for everyone. Patient readers with deep imaginations, though, will find it joyful as descriptions from the book spring from the wells of their minds and take flight before their eyes. Isao's suicide is a painting that has been painted a thousand times in my mind, along with the rising sun.