| View Larger Image | The Sound of Waves | Paperbackby Yukio Mishima (Author), Meredith Weatherby (Translator)
| List Price: | $15.00 | | Price: | $10.20 | | You Save: | $4.80 (32%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Vintage | | Page Count: | 192 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 04, 1994 | | Sales Rank: | 109,607th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780679752684
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. A young fisherman is entranced at the sight of the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. They fall in love, but must then endure the calumny and gossip of the villagers. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 60 reviews)
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Forbidden Love by Amaranth (Northern California)  5 Stars
November 21, 2008
"The Sound of Waves" has been described as the Japanese Romeo and Juliet, flowing from the pen of talented author Yukio Mishima. It is set on the mythic island of Uta-Jima,far from modernity's shifting tides. Shinji is a poor fisherman; he loves Hatsue, a daughter of nobility. Despite class differences, can they be together?
"Sound of Waves" is a fascinating,unconventional work. Though Mishima disdained modernity,Shinji and Hatsue defy the class structure. While Japanese culture puts much emphasis on "saving face",the lovers care more about each other than the gossip-mongers around them. Mishima's novel also explores themes that aren't in Romeo&Juliet. Hatsue must prove her virginity. However, her amorous night with Shinji is one of the most erotic ever written. They lie together,naked,yet we are supposed to think nothing happens. Mishima redefines virginity- or his emphasis on it questions the concept in general. He leaves it to the reader. Again, the lovers defy conservative Japanese sexual mores.
"Sound of Waves" is like a perfectly cut crystal,or a spare Japanese sand garden. It is a thing of beauty for contemplation and satori (enlightenment). Like Zen Buddhism,it is about finding beauty in the present moment.
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The Sound of Waves reveals the genius of Yukio Mishima by G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) 5 Stars
August 07, 2008
Yukio Mishima (The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea) is the fascinating subject of two recent DVD releases Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Criterion Collection and Patriotism - Criterion Collection. Set in a small fishing village, his 1954 novel, The Sound of Waves (Shiosai), tells the coming-of-age story of Shinji Kubo and his love for Hatsue, the beautiful daughter of the wealthy Terukichi Miyata. Hatsue, much like the pearls she dives for, is the object of much admiration. Soon she and Shinji fall in love, much to the disappointment of Shinji's vengeful admirer, Chiyoko, who schemes to divide the two young lovers by spreading untrue rumours about Hatsue's loss of virginity. While The Sound of Waves is a timeless meditation on the power of love, whether or not Hatsue is virtuous also becomes a central theme of the novel. Mishima uses the sea as a metaphor for the unpredictable, ever-changing nature of life in his novel, a novel which won the Shincho Prize in 1954. The Sound of Waves offers a good introduction to the rare genius of Yukio Mishima.
G. Merritt
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A Wonderful Story About Love and Hope by M. Chu (CA) 5 Stars
July 08, 2008
I read this book for my senior summer reading and I was stunned by how it soon engulfed me. I just couldn't put down the book! The characters and story were well developed and there was always something to keep you in suspense. It is definitely a great romantic novel.
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sound of waves , a story of simple life on a Japanese fishing island by sam winslo (Iowa) 5 Stars
June 05, 2008
June 5, 2008
I just finished reading the Sound of Waves. It's a true to life account of life in a Japanese fishing island in the mid 1950's.
What would people do without all their modern conveniences, luxuries and entertainments? They would probably live like the people of Uta Jima, finding joy in a simple life close to nature and their families and neighbors. When someone needs to fix their house, all their friends come to help out. When a young couple suffers a crisis, the whole village helps work out the problem. And being close to nature, even the Gods are there to lend their behind the scenes assistance.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like to experience life in rural Japan.
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Mishima's unseen solitude by animate ~ (Fayetteville, NC)  4 Stars
December 25, 2007
Written in 1954, this is Mishima's fourth novel and one that stands out from his more famous works in a number of ways.
Mishima is mostly known for character introspection; dark, mysterious protagonists whose psyches are peeled away chapter by chapter. "The Sound of Waves" isn't like that. It's not like many Mishima novels that I've read.
It's a simple love story. Kind of reminiscent of the one told in "Spring Snow", although here, we're given a more minimal brush stroke from the writer in that the story's setting takes place on a very small, secluded island off of mainland Japan.
Though it would be easy to label this as typical Japanese romance-drama, it's really more than that. It shows a writer coming out of his shell and holds some very beautiful passages that I would attribute only to Mishima. He writes in a way that is very personal for me, so I guess I'm a little biased, but this is a great piece of work.
Like the tide pulling sand from a beach, Mishima's place in literature becomes more apparent with each novel I progress through.
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