The Sound of Waves

A classic, elegant romance set in a Japanese fishing village.In a remote fishing village in Japan, two very different young people fall in love.Shinji is a hard-working fisherman, Hatsue is the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. She is also a diver for pearls and seaweed with the other women of the community. Shinji is entranced at the sight of Hatsue in the twilight on the beach and a relationship develops via secret notes and meetings. But when the villagers' gossip threatens to divide them permanently, Shinji must risk his life to prove his worth.'A work of art...altogether a joyous and lovely thing' New York Times'A sunny masterpiece' Los Angeles Times

“A work of art...altogether a joyous and lovely thing”

The beauty of Mishima's prose and the vibrant evocation of island life elevate this short novel far beyond its constituent parts Japan Times
New York Times
Of such classic design its action might take place at any point across a thousand years San Francisco Chronicle
A pastoral with ancient Greek overtones Boston Globe
A sunny masterpiece Los Angeles Times

Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of forty-five.

'A work of art...altogether a joyous and lovely thing' New York Times Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. It tells of Shinji, a young fisherman and Hatsue, the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. Shinji is entranced at the sight of Hatsue in the twilight on the beach and they fall in love. When the villagers' gossip threatens to divide them, Shinki must risk his life to prove his worth. See also: Spring Snow

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