"Beautiful Star," Yukio Mishima's acclaimed novel finally translated into English in 2022, explores Cold War paranoia through the Osugi family, who believe they are aliens from different planets. While it features intriguing themes and memorable characters, the novel's second half becomes a tedious philosophical debate on humanity’s worth, undermining its earlier impact. Despite its moments of brilliance, its incoherent structure may leave readers wanting more. It holds value for Mishima fans and those interested in post-war Japanese literature, but may not appeal to all readers.

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t deal with the no chapters and it was just dragging. It was such an interesting concept but I found it hard to connect with the characters and follow the story. I am sad I didn’t love it but we can’t win them all.

Reading Beautiful Star by Yukio Mishima was a surreal and thought-provoking experience. This 1962 novel, recently translated into English, tells the bizarre yet compelling story of the Osugi family, who each believe they are extraterrestrials from different planets. This unusual premise allows Mishima to explore profound themes of identity, family, and humanity's place in the universe.

Mishima's narrative is infused with dark humor and atmospheric tension, making the reader question the reality and sanity of the characters. The Osugis' belief in their cosmic origins brings them together in a mission to save Earth from nuclear annihilation. The blend of science fiction, family drama, and existential musings is both unique and engaging.

This intriguing and original novel tells the story of the Osugi family in Japan, who come to the realisation that they are each from a different planet. In spite of their extra-terrestrial origins they live a pretty regular life but the father Juichiro comes to the conclusion that they must be on earth amongst humans for a reason – and that reason is to work for world peace and avoid earth’s annihilation in the new nuclear age. However, there are other extra-terrestrials around who don’t have such a benign attitude. And indeed does humanity actually deserve saving? Written in the 1960s when the Cold War was at its height and the threat of nuclear war very real (and probably it still is) the book struck a chord with me and I mostly went with the unlikely plot. I had to suspend disbelief completely on occasion, not least when UFOs start to appear, but the story itself was entertaining, and the thinking behind it still relevant. The long debate towards the end about the merits or otherwise of humanity slowed down the momentum, but there are some acute observations and insights here, and of course, with our planet in such dire straits right now, the thought of some well-meaning aliens dropping in to save us all has a certain appeal. It’s not a great novel, but overall I enjoyed it and found it (mostly) very readable, with its dark humour and quirky scenario.

This novel has a beautiful message, but I believe it is outdated. I did not like the author's style, and there were too many unnecessary detailed descriptions.

if you are planning to start reading mishima, don't let this be your first book. or on your list for any time soon.

this was out of my general expectations for a mishima, in a bad way. it was an interesting read at first, but then started to drag out after i got to the mid-point.

a family who thinks they are or are aliens work on bringing world peace, but it all goes wrong, and they fail with their task only to move into "human" matters while they still see themselves as superior beings.

while this would surely be an interesting book to read for a literary disection, it still doesn't change my displeasure with it.

i will still be reading mishima's works, but will do my best to forget this one.

I'm not sure if it's because the book was written a while ago but I didn't 'get' it. I felt like I was missing something. I couldn't connect with the characters.
I can see why some people would love it. Its a bit strange and quirky but not for me.

I must admit this took a while to get into for me (though that could be due to formatting issues in my ARC which seems to have lost the fs). The plot is set in the 1960s revolves around Osugi Family who believe they have a purpose of rescuing humanity from mass destruction and whilst Mishima clearly wrote this book during the height of the Cold War and nuclear threat (as well as the McCarthyist movement), the morals of the tale are as important today if not more so given what's going on in the world right now.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Classics for the ARC.

Beautiful Star has been a difficult read. It was not a bad book, but difficult to follow as the structure and plot were all over the place. Overall, an interesting and crazy read.

A well written dark comedy Sci-fi novel about a family, that realises, that they are aliens from different planets.
I think it's important to men, that the Sci-fi part of the book is more or less a device to give a outside perspective about important and still very relevant topics.
It's not just a book to read and put away, but one you should think about and understand.
Some parts were a bit difficult to understand right away, but that might be because of the translation, since it's not always easy to drive home the point in an other language.
All in all it was a great read and I could only recommend reading it.

I had access to the ARC of this book but in English traslation what it is always complicated because I wish I could read every book in they original lenguage. But this book is such a beautiful written and is a dark comedy I literally enjoyed every bit of it. The whole story was so engaging for me. I like how the author could take the whole multicultural culture and the background of everyone and paint us such a universe in this book. For me was a delightful reading

I was not the biggest fan of this one. A family all realizes they are actually aliens, each from a different planet in our solar system, and they have to help the human race avoid nuclear destruction by teaching them peace. This seemed to me the book that Murakami has spent his entire life trying to write, and similar to how I feel about Murakami it was just kind of toothless. There's a 20-page straight dialogue section towards the end that was almost entirely inscrutable to me, discussion about how best to goad humanity into world peace that was fraught with metaphor and disconnected leaps of logic. I've liked the previous Mishima's I've read, I think this one was a little too out there for me.

A beautiful exploration and it has this well-written entries and exciting execution. I will definitely bought a copy of this book the soonest as I can.

"Beautiful Star" unfolds as a captivating narrative from the year 1962, intertwining the threads of family bonds, love's embrace, the spectre of nuclear conflict, and the enigma of UFOs. This esteemed work, cherished by Mishima himself, stood as one of his most remarkable literary achievements.

Marking its English translation debut, this evocative dark comedy unveils the chronicles of the Osugi family. Their sudden revelation that each member hails from a distinct celestial realm adds a whimsical layer to their lives: the father emerges from Mars, the mother originates from Jupiter, the son finds his lineage in Mercury, and the daughter, a child of Venus. This cosmic kinship draws them into a tighter orbit and bequeaths them a shared mission—to seek out their extraterrestrial counterparts and thwart the looming peril of atomic devastation, poised to befall humanity.

Within these pages, a panorama of beliefs, values, customs, practices, and societal structures of diverse cultures has been masterfully painted, bestowing upon me a profound and enlightening perspective. The author's narrative has unfurled an intricate tapestry of insight into the intricate lives, cogitations, and interactions of people hailing from varying cultural tapestries. In embracing this literary voyage, my appreciation for the kaleidoscope of human culture has deepened significantly. This book serves as a powerful catalyst for fostering comprehension, empathy, and a palpable sense of interconnectedness among individuals representing a spectrum of backgrounds.

While the eBook captivates, an opportunity for refinement and enhanced user-friendliness emerges. The integration of navigational chapter links, the mitigation of conspicuous word gaps, and the addition of an artful cover design would elevate the eBook's presentation, lending it the immersive ambiance befitting a book. Presently, a minor deduction is made from my rating in light of this aspect.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Such beautiful, lyrical and heart-touching writing. I can now understand why this is one of Mishima's best works. Trust me when I say that this book is best enjoyed without knowing much about the plot...just pick it up and start reading.

The story of a group of people living in Japan in the early 60s, realising they are extraterrestrials. Our protagonists are a family with two young adult children, all of who seem to be from different planets. These, as well as other extraterrestrials they meet as the story progresses, serve to illustrate the existential dilemma that gripped much of humanity in the years post the Soviet hydrogen bomb experiment. The characters' debates and struggles take the reader on a journey touching multiple socio-political and socio-psychological themes. The central debate seems to be related to the nature of humanity, and its role in the cosmos. Is humanity self destructive, and, if so, what is the role of extraterrestrials overlooking this self destruction?

The story is essentially a satire, and uses elements of pulp sci fi to explore complex issues and highlight dilemmas of human existence. The authors uses sci fi deftly, and maintains a certain level of levity throughout the book (other than perhaps the last 50 pages or so).

I actually liked it a lot, and even found some of the deeper social analysis insightful and relevant. Mishima is said to have found this novel to be his best work, and, while it's not essentially an easy read, it is certainly among the more complex and multi layered. That being said, it was done with such elegance and finesse that it comes together like a nuanced omakase menu. The characters are vivid and realistic. The dialogues are pithy and genuine. The social construct of human ecistence is analysed minutely as if with a scalpel.

"Governing people is easy. All you need to do is govern the nothingness and void within them".

"He is not in despair about being alive, which is the usual cause of suicide, but despair about life itself".

"Only the consumption of bread continues unabated. The eternal search for the next piece of bread, and the next, and the next. The political rulers themselves might not know it, but they are duty bound to keep the people supplied with bread in order to guarantee the meaninglessness of their existence".

Great forgotten gem.

A group of aliens find themselves in human bodies and arranged as a family. It transpires that their mission is to persuade humanity onto the path of peace not destruction. There are also another group of aliens-in-human-bodies trying to sabotage this mission.

The story didn't grab me or make me laugh like Mishima's Confessions of a Mask. There are various long descriptions plus a long debate between the two groups of aliens. The translation is excellent - it's the underlying story which is too dry.

I received a free advance reader copy in return for a review. All opinions are my own.

For the first time, Yukio Mishima's book made me laugh.
The main plot is a little cliche: UFO, aliens, and the destruction of human civilizations.
However, this book is full of delicate ideas and fantastic discussions.
If you enjoy Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem Trilogy, Beautiful Star is a must read.

Yukio Mishima’s Beautiful Star was first serialised in the early 1960s in the midst of a growing global crisis, it was the height of the Cold War and relations between the Soviet Union and America were disastrously fraught. Nuclear war looked almost unavoidable. A situation that made Japan a particularly vulnerable, potential target, since complicated post-WW2 negotiations had left them with a slew of American bases and a treaty that tied the countries together if an attack should happen. A development that had already caused serious unrest in Japan. In many ways Mishima’s story reads like a response to Japan’s political predicament but it’s a fairly unusual one. It’s centred on a wealthy but nondescript suburban family, the Osugis, who are living with a secret; the knowledge that they’re actually extraterrestrials inhabiting earthly bodies.

Mishima was a huge science fiction fan, as well as part of a Japanese organisation fixated on UFO sightings. His scenario builds on this fascination, as well as on tropes and plot points from commercial SF - his family are not unlike an extension of the pod people in the popular Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Social critique and science fiction often go hand in hand but Mishima’s take on the subgenre is particularly explicit, marrying intense literary realism, and documentary-like fact with fantastical forms of semi-philosophical debate. He intersperses accounts of flying saucers and glimpses of worlds beyond with aspects of Japanese cultural history as well as elements of Noh theatre – another interest of his which he felt had affinities with sf's hidden aliens and monstrous threats.

The Osugi family, who live in the shadow of the Johnson Military Base, believe they have a purpose, to rescue humanity from mass destruction. Leading their growing campaign for disarmament is father Juichiro, aided by his wife Iyoko, daughter Akiko and son Kazuo. Although as the story unfolds both son and daughter are caught up in “human” distractions. The Osugis provide an entry point for a searing examination of postwar Japanese society with its conflicted politics, growing materialism and emphasis on social status. Mishima brings in references to the disturbing mix of tendencies towards conformity in Japanese culture with its own brand of “red scare” linked to America’s virulent McCarthy era. The unassuming Osugi’s lack of interest in consumerism and social climbing marks them out for their neighbours as possible communist sympathisers, bringing a concerned public order official to their door. The Osugis are contrasted with a rival alien faction led by resentful academic Haguro. The Osugis want to bring harmony to an “unpleasant, disordered” planet. Haguro, however, is a nihilist and a misogynist, disgusted by humanity’s excesses and venal desires. His group seek to hasten rather than prevent all-out war. Mishima’s slow-burning narrative builds to a muted confrontation between these groupings, culminating in a curious debate about the nature of humanity and whether it’s actually worth saving.

It's a strange piece, initial sales were apparently poor and Mishima’s American publisher declined translation. But I found its quirky exploration of threats to existence, power, collective anxiety and alienation deeply intriguing and Mishima’s perspective on Japanese society compelling. It can be quite an intense read, and there are decidedly dry patches but it’s also laced with instances of absurdist, perversely deadpan humour. Sometimes deliberately provocative, in true Mishima fashion, sometimes verging on contemptuous - it can even be surprisingly tender. Mishima also treads a fine line between speculative fiction and parody, since it’s never entirely clear whether or not the Osugis are in the grip of a shared delusion, and he delights in introducing then subverting common sf tropes. At times this reminded me a little of Philip K. Dick’s dissection of American culture in his suburbia novels – that is if he hadn’t insisted on a strict divide between these and his sf work. In addition, Mishima’s story features stretches of marvellous imagery and memorably exquisite descriptions of the natural world – a stark contrast to his vision of man-made environments. Perhaps this divide is a means of highlighting his underlying preoccupation with existential questions, as Juichiro’s journey eventually brings forces him, and his family, to contemplate not just the meaning of life but how to live it. Although it’s a shame Mishima's women are so thinly, predictably drawn. Translated by Stephen Dodd.

yukio mishima’s beautiful star was only recently translated and it is quite understandable why.

this novel offers certain beautiful passages about love and family, the prose being characterized by its aestheticism and poetical flow. however, it doesn’t read quite like a novel. the hazy vignettes seemly unrelated to one another and the lack of control and connectivity in its literary occurrences make the book to be rather confusing and nonsensical. the narrative was certainly quite juvenile for this reason.

all in all, mishima knows how to craft a spellbinding sentence, but the storyline was too incoherent and perplexing!