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An event with the same name is scheduled to happen: Queer Book Club: Confessions of a Mask on Monday, 16-11-2026, 19:30.

16 Apr

19:00

De Uithoek handarbeidlokaal

2e Daalsedijk 2b, Utrecht

Join the Queer Book Club to discuss 'Confessions of a Mask' by Yukio Mishima and make new friends in an inclusive, English-speaking environment.

Queer Book Club: Confessions of a Mask

More info & tickets

Come discuss books and make new friends 🌈✨

This month's book is Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. The Dutch translation (Bekentenissen van een gemaskerde) is available at de bibliotheek. The English translation unfortunately has to be procured elsewhere.

About the Book

Confessions of a Mask tells the story of Kochan, an adolescent boy tormented by his burgeoning attraction to men: he wants to be “normal.” Kochan is meek-bodied, and unable to participate in the more athletic activities of his classmates. He begins to notice his growing attraction to some of the boys in his class, particularly the pubescent body of his friend Omi. To hide his homosexuality, he courts a woman, Sonoko, but this exacerbates his feelings for men. As news of the War reaches Tokyo, Kochan considers the fate of Japan and his place within its deeply rooted propriety.

Confessions of a Mask reflects Mishima’s own coming of age in post-war Japan. Its publication in English—praised by Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, and Christopher Isherwood—propelled the young Yukio Mishima to international fame.