AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD <i> by Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage: $8.95)</i>

Kazuo Ishiguro examines guilt and vanity in postwar Japanese society in this shimmering novel. The protagonist, Masuji Ono, was a noted propaganda artist in Tokyo during World War II: His patriotic posters helped to rally support for the campaigns in China and the Pacific. But in 1948, his reputation has begun to haunt him; he feels he must bear responsibility for the sufferings caused by the actions he extolled. Moreover, his wartime activities have made him politically suspect, and may spoil his younger daughter’s marriage prospects.

After meticulously delineating Ono’s shameful past, Ishiguro shatters his construction in a stunning revelation, reminiscent of Yukio Mishima’s “The Decay of the Angel.” Ono discovers his guilt is a product of his own egotism: His importance to the war effort proves as illusory as the “floating world” of the 19th-Century graphic artists he emulated. Ishiguro, who was born in Japan but educated in England, writes with a rare, understated elegance.