An astounding masterpiece of taut violence, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea tells the story of an attractive widow's love affair with a naval officer, Ryuji, and its shattering effect on her son, Noburo. Noburo, leader of a band of 13-year-olds who reject the adult world, watches the couple through a peephole in the name of 'objectivity.' As he and his gang become more and more calculating in their violence, the novel turns into a chilling and universal reminder that objectivity is not everything.