![]() ![]() The stars were embedded in the firmament like spots on a leopard’s fur. It was one of those magnificent starry skies never visible in the big city. As the residents of Hanno, the local small town in which they live, consider them a bunch of misfits, it’s a good thing they have that solidarity… So they study the stars and watch the heavens, worrying all the time about nuclear war and what the human race is doing to the planet, this ‘beautiful star’. ![]() This knowledge is one of the things which helps them to cope with the horrors of the modern world and brings them together as a family. The father is from Mars, mother from Jupiter, son from Mercury and daughter from Venus. As the book opens, the family have discovered that they are all extra-terrestrials, and are setting off to watch out for flying saucers. “Beautiful Star” was first published in 1962 and tells the story of the Osugi family. Today sees the publication of another of his books which has never been rendered into English before: it’s “ Beautiful Star”, translated by Stephen Dodd, and it’s apparently the work which Mishima considered to be his masterpiece. I’ve mentioned before on the Ramblings how excited I am about the recent new translations of Yukio Mishima‘s works which have been appearing in English I’ve written about “ Star“, “ The Frolic of the Beasts“ and “ Life for Sale“, all of which have been marvellous, as well as shifting my view of the author a little. ![]()
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