Voices of the Fallen Heroes - And Other Stories

A writer is seized by apocalyptic visions; a voyeuristic marquis commits a brutal act; and a trio of beatniks dance to modern jazz in the ruins of an abandoned church. A new selection of 14 of Yukio Mishima's best short stories from the 1960s - his final decade - Voices of the Fallen Heroes offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Japan's greatest writers. In the title story 'Voices of the Fallen Heroes', Mishima's first overtly political work of fiction, a séance brings forth the spirits of young officers in the Imperial Army and the kamikaze pilots of World War II, who decry the Emperor and mourn Japan's modern decline.
In another, Mishima recounts the true story of the time a deranged fan broke into his home at dawn, insisting on meeting the author and imploring him to 'tell the truth'. Elsewhere, a beautiful youth achieves eternal life through violent murder, and an ill-matched couple seal their fate with a pack of cards, tangled in the web of time and unfulfilled desire. Available in English for the first time, and carefully selected by a team of expert translators, these captivating stories serve as the perfect introduction to Mishima's work, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.