num_pages: 200
description: In Thirst for Love, Japan's greatest modern writer created a portrait of sexual torment and corrosive jealousy that is as delicately nuanced as Madame Bovary and as remorseless as Justine. Yukio Mishima's protagonist is Etsuko, whose philandering husband has died horribly from typhoid. The young widow moves into the household of her father-in-law, where she numbly submits to the old man's advances. But soon Etsuko falls in love with the young servant, Saburo. Tormented by his indifference yet invigorated by her anguish, she makes one last, catastrophic bid for his attention. Stunningly acute in its perceptions, excruciating in its psychological suspense, Thirst for Love is a triumph of eroticism, terror, and compassion.
language: English
title: Thirst for Love
titlecomplete: Thirst for Love
genres: Asia, 20th Century, Japanese Literature, Novels, Asian Literature, Literature, Japan, Classics, Romance, Fiction
ratings_count: 5355
places: Japan
publisher: Random House Vintage International