All eyes are on Rikio.
With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there any escape from how we are seen by others?.
Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams.
But so is life.
Being a star, constantly performing, being watched and scrutinized as if under a microscope, is often a drag.
Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells action
Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions.
His fans cheer, screaming and yelling to attract his attention--they would kill for a moment alone with him.
And he likes it, mostly.
All eyes are on Rikio
