First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Set in rural Japan shortly after World War II, The Frolic of the Beasts tells the story of a strange and utterly absorbing love triangle among a former university student, Kōji; his would-be mentor, the eminent literary critic Ippei Kusakudo; and Ippei’s beautiful, enigmatic wife, Yūko. When brought face-to-face with one of Ippei’s many marital indiscretions, Kōji’s growing desire for Yūko compels him to action in a way that changes all three of their lives profoundly. The Frolic of the Beasts is a haunting examination of the various guises we assume throughout our lives and a tale of psychological self-entrapment, seduction, and murder.

Happy Friday everyone! Technically it is already Saturday so I hope everyone will have a great weekend. I hope everyone made it through (safely) yet another work week. I hope everyone accomplished all the tasks they started at the beginning of the week, or at least able to make strides. I hope everyone ends the work week on a high note and jumps into the weekend worry-free. Whoa. Time flies. Today is the first day of the third month of the year. How has your 2025 been? I hope that it is going great or is going the way you wanted it to. I hope you got a headstart on your goals and that you are on the way to achieving them. If the year is going otherwise, I hope you experience a reversal of fortune in the coming months. I hope that 2025 will be a year of prayers answered, healing, and dreams achieved. As such, I hope everyone will be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

Before I could dive fully into the weekend, let me share a fresh First Impression Friday update which has, over the years, developed into a workweek-ender. It has become the perfect way to close a blogging week. It was initially a space for me to take a breather and reflect on the book I was reading. It eventually developed into a springboard upon which I built my book reviews. To commence my 2025 reading year, I have been immersing myself in the works of East Asian writers. Several factors figured in this decision. Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature recognition is one driver for this decision. Third, an older work by Han, We Do Not Part was released in English last January; I just finished reading the book. Another reason for this foray into East Asian literature is the glaring lack of Chinese voices in my reading journey. Despite its extent and its vast influence, my venture into works of Chinese literature is sparse at best.

However, the foremost reason for this foray into East Asian literature early in the year – I usually read works of Asian writers in the second half of the year – was my inability to host a Japanese Literature Month in 2024; a Japanese literature month has been a staple of my reading year since 2020. Japanese literature, as most of you know by now, is one of my favorite literatures in the world. One of the Japanese writers who made me stay in Japanese literature is Yukio Mishima whose The Frolic of the Beasts is my current read. Originally published in 1961 as 獣の戯れ (Kemono no Tawamure), The Frolic of the Beasts is the sixth novel by Mishima I read. I am still to obtain copies of his renowned Sea of Fertility tetralogy but I have been relishing the experience of exploring the rest of his oeuvre.

The novel’s prologue immediately laid out the landscape of the story, opening with the photograph of three individuals: Ippei Kusakado, his wife Yūko, and the youthful Kōji. Taken on a summer day, the pictures captured them smiling while standing on the harbor wall in Iro Village, a rural fishing port in the western part of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. The picture was taken “a few days before the final wretched incident.” Kōji is a young man who works for the couple’s gardening nursery. The story takes a stiff turn when it takes the readers to a graveyard with three gravestones. Ippei’s grave lies on the right while Kōji’s is on the left. Yūko’s is in the center but it is only a “living monument” and is reserved for her eventual death. How Mishima laid out the story was rather unusual as the readers were already provided an inkling about the story. Or is that there is to it? On the other hand, he builds a tenterhook.

The story all starts in Tokyo where Kōji first met the couple. While studying for university, Kōji worked for a Western ceramics shop in Ginza, Tokyo. The shop was owned by 41-year-old Ippei. Apart from managing the shop, Ippei translates and reviews German literature in his spare time. During a drunken conversation, Ippei confesses to Kōji his marital troubles – I am again reminded that this is the Mishima literary landscape – particularly Yūko’s lack of jealousy. He tried making his wife jealous and even confessing several affairs. Yūko, however, was nonplussed. It was because of this that Kōji fell in love with Yūko despite having not met her yet. Following this conversation, Kōji began a secret affair with Yūko. Yūko, in turn, admits to being cognizant of her husband’s infidelities. Tension escalates and Kōji finds himself in prison. The story’s first chapter opens with Kōji getting released from prison and traveling back to Iro Village where he meets the couple that once employed him in Tokyo. Kōji again started working for them at their gardening nursery.

Mishima is certainly quite a very interesting writer. He often writes about subjects that I expect Japanese writers would skirt around. I guess it is not surprising considering that Mishima is one of the most controversial Japanese writers. The last Mishima novel I read, Thirst for Love, also has an interesting – read: intriguing – premise. I have observed that beyond the intriguing subjects he highlights, Mishima’s works are tied by recurring threads. His works explore the often obscured sections of humanity such as our desires, obsessions, and infidelities. These subjects are also palpable in The Frolic of the Beasts. I can’t wait to see how the story pans out as Mishima sifts through various layers of human conditions.

The book is rather thin and I just might be able to complete it today. How about you fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!