“Beautiful Star” is the newest translation of a novel about family, aliens and the looming nuclear war, which Mishima himself considered his best work.
We follow the story mostly from the point of view of the Ōsugi family, who, one by one, learn about their extraterrestrial origins. Curiously, flying saucers never appear when they are together, and this makes them wonder if, perhaps, one of them is actually a human. The head of the family, Jūichirō, undertakes the mission of saving humanity from nuclear war, in the meantime bringing together other non-human beings. Unfortunately, his work attracts the negative attention of those who believe that the only way to help humanity is the complete annihilation of the human race, which leads to an inevitable confrontation.
In Beautiful Star you will find Mishima’s reflections on beauty, death and the human condition, this time in with interesting science-fiction twist.
