Confessions of a Mask tells the story of a Japanese boy's development towards a homosexual identity during and after the Second World War. In narrating his progress from an isolated childhood through adolescence to manhood, he exposes his inner life, full of repressed homosexual desires and preoccupations with sadomasochism and death. The enduring power of the novel is in part owing to its themes of fantasy, despair, and alienation, its eloquent voice, but also its autobiographical nature --the equally enduring fascination with the life and character of one of Japan's most turbulent artists. As part of the new Peter Owen Cased Classics series, this special hardback edition carries an elegant dust jacket with a false die-cutting of a mask, while printed on the cover board is the work of British contemporary artist Fraser Taylor.