Spring Snow (1965) - Yukio Mishima

Written by Yukio Mishima
Read by Brian Nishii
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
Release date: 12-22-10
Publisher: Audible Studios

Yukio Mishima’s Spring Snow is the first novel in his masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility. Here we meet Shigekuni Honda, who narrates this epic tale of what he believes are the successive reincarnations of his friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae.

It is 1912 in Tokyo, and outsiders — rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power, are breaching the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy for the first time.

Shigekuni Honda, an aspiring lawyer and his childhood friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae, are the sons of two such families. As they come of age amidst the growing tensions between old and new, Kiyoaki is plagued by his simultaneous love for and loathing of the spirited young woman Ayakura Satoko. But Kiyoaki’s true feelings only become apparent when her sudden engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion — and leads to a love affair both doomed and inevitable.

Long and complex Spring Snow is a novel of pride, misplaced loyalty, blackmail, intrigue, lust, selfishness, sacrifice, and misery. It is the story of star crossed lovers, steadfast friends, political mishaps, and conniving servants. It is a protest against westernization and the loss of traditional values.