Comments on: “Patriotism” by Yukio Mishima

By: nicole

nicole — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:52:20 +0000

Hi Raf,

I said that the story was good—that I “can’t say it wasn’t good.” But I’m glad you liked it too.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:34:07 +0000

How can you say that the story is not good after bestowing it with such praise? Because you were distracted? By what? You would need to clarify this. I generally find short stories difficult to grasp because, for this reader (I stress “for this reader”), they lack the breadth and the emotional satisfaction of a novel. However, this is one story I love. I consider “Patriotism” one of the best pieces of literature I’ve ever read. The passion, the intensity, the poetry, the skill are sublime. I personally prefer Kawabata over Mishima, but this story just struck a chord in me.

By: karlo

karlo — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:50:44 +0000

I read “Patriotism” in the collection Death in Midsummer and Other Stories. I liked the story (and think it’s good). Meanwhile, the other stories, apart from Mishima’s impressive narration, have the same quality of being dark and disturbing.

By: verbivore

verbivore — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:47:18 +0000

I can see how hard it would be to read this without letting all that background on Mishima filter through into the story – but he is a careful writer and worth it for that reason. I’ve got his After the Banquet on my TBR pile at the moment, hoping to get to it before too long.

By: Biblibio

Biblibio — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:54:05 +0000

Well, if it’s interesting and is well-written on the one hand, and distracting on the other, perhaps it’s a book that require utmost concentration… The quotes have my attention, mostly because there’s something really neat to the way they’re written. I’ll be certain to check this out, even if it may be slightly disconcerting. The setting is enough to make me want to read this.