Apollo's Song - by Osamu Tezuka (Paperback)

About the Book

Better to have loved and lost...The gods, with their poetic justice, can be unrelenting. Just ask the young cynic Shogo, who sinned against love. Electroshock therapy was only meant to bring him face to face with his own violent misdeeds, but instead landed him in the court of a stern goddess. If the encounter was a hallucination, then it's a hallucination that starts to encroach on reality in this unforgettable tale penned by manga-god Osamu Tezuka and inspired by Greek myths of divine unforgiving. Sharing with his longer work Phoenix the themes of recurrence and retribution as well as a spirit of high invention, Apollo's Song explores the meaning of love and the consequences of its absence.

Book Synopsis

OR NOT TO HAVE LOVED AT ALL...

From a boxcar bound for a Nazi concentration camp to a dystopian future where humans are persecuted by their own clones, Apollo's Song reaches Olympian heights of tragedy as it explores the meaning of love and the consequences of its absence. Salty, romantic, and at times profoundly erotic, the ambiguities of its poetic justice will plumb new depths of the heart with each rereading.

Review Quotes

"More than telling a multifaceted story, Apollo's Song inspires. When the dust settles and the back cover is closed, Tezuka's intent is laid bare to the reader and it's a noble one. Shogo doesn't merely learn a lesson about love and life -- he transcends the agony of both." - MangaLife

"Tezuka's work is about as essential and far-reaching as manga gets, and Apollo's Song only adds that much more weight to an already massive reputation. Start here, and if you're intrigued, Ode to Kirihito and Buddha also await you. There's never been anything like Tezuka's body of work, and there probably never will be again." - Serdar Yegulalp Anime Advanced Media Network

About the Author

Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. He originally intended to become a doctor and earned his degree before turning to what was then a medium for children. His many early masterpieces include the series known in the U.S. as Astro Boy. With his sweeping vision, deftly interwined plots, feel for the workings of power, and indefatigable commitment to human dignity, Tezuka elevated manga to an art form. The later Tezuka, when he authored Buddha, often had in mind the mature readership that manga gained in the sixties and that had only grown ever since. The Kurosawa of Japanese pop culture, Osamu Tezuka is a twentieth century classic.