We all have a favourite sort of fascist author who killed themselves in a really poorly thought out coup with his personal militia, right? Right. But did you know Yukio Mishima also wrote a comedic novel? Or maybe a satire? I'm not entirely sure but I'm pretty sure it's a dark comedy although I know I tend to interpret things as comedic that other people say are, in fact, not (Welcome to Nightvale, Titus Andronicus, that part of "Moby Dick" where Ishmael tells you all the things that aren't whales).
"Life for Sale" is /wild/. It reminds me a bit of Kafka's "The Trial", but if K. intentionally instigated the titular trial, instead of just being subjected to it (which may seem entirely counter to the nature of "The Trial" but the brain makes the connections that it will).
"Life for Sale" is about a man who realizes he finds no worth in his life, so he puts an ad in the newspaper to sell his life to any interested applicants, which amounts to "in exchange for money, arrange and use the circumstances of my death in a way that benefits you". Instead of straightforward insurance schemes, our protagonist finds himself embroiled in increasingly complicated and absurd circumstances and conspiracies that rise to the level of global politics, while he continues to not be successfully killed.
Lacking the context of time and place Mishima was writing about, I'm sure the more pointed qualities of the satire would be evident, but from a story perspective it's fascinating, and the sticky grimey disaffection with post-war Japan reminds me of works like "Forbidden Colours" and "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea".
I love it. It was the last book I read in 2023 and a gloriously powerful note to end on.