Voices of Fallen Heroes

Yukio Mishima

A writer haunted by apocalyptic visions; a voyeuristic marquis commits a brutal act; and a beatnik trio dance to modern jazz among the ruins of an abandoned church. Here, stark autobiography contrasts with sheer horror, and the tenderness of first love succumbs to obsession, heartache, and fatal beauty. A new collection of Mishima's short stories from the 1960s, *Voices of Fallen Heroes*, traces the final decade of Mishima's literary career and offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Japan's greatest writers. In the title story, a séance conjures up the spirits of young officers of the Imperial Army and World War II kamikaze pilots, who blame the Emperor and lament Japan's modern decline. In another, Mishima recounts the true story of when a deranged admirer broke into his home at dawn, insisting on meeting the writer and begging him to "tell the truth." Elsewhere, a beautiful young man achieves eternal life through a violent murder, and an incompatible couple seals their fate with a deck of cards, entangled in the web of time and unfulfilled desire. Available in English for the first time, these captivating stories, carefully selected by expert translators, are the perfect introduction to Mishima's work, on the centenary of his birth.