Decay of the Angel: The Sea of Fertility, 4

Description: As the dramatic climax of The Sea of Fertility, The Decay of the Angel brings together themes that have branched through the three previous novels--the meaning (and decay) of Japan's courtly tradition, the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy, and Mishima's apocalyptic vision of the modern age.

Review Quotes: "Mesmerizing. . . . A saga of 20th-century Japan: a story of national decline that nonetheless proposes redemption through the endurance of a certain soul, forceful enough to be reborn ad infinitum."
--The Guardian (London)

"The end of [Mishima's] Sea of Fertility tetralogy. . . is surely one of the best final scenes in the history of the novel."
--David Mitchell, The New York Times Book Review