Mishima the drowning empire "The Pale King is by

"The Pale King is by turns funny

and its turbulent times

if somewhat demented

Jack Morgan

she forms an anti-bucket list -- starting with a steamy fling

Mishima the drowning empire "The Pale King is byAt forty five, Yukio Mishima was the outstanding Japanese writer of his generation, celebrated both at home and abroad for The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. In 1970 he startled the world by stepping out onto a balcony in Tokyo before an assembly of troops and plunging a sword into his abdomen; a disciple then beheaded him, completing the ritual of hara kiri. John Nathan's riveting biography traces the life of this tortured, nearly