The Siren’s Lament – Essential Stories by Junichiro Tanizaki
The Siren’s Lament – Essential Stories by Junichiro Tanizaki, translated by Bryan Karetnyk / ISBN 9781782278092 / small-format 190-page paperback with flaps published in 2023 by Pushkin Press
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Lavishly opulent stories of sensual obsession, cultural heritage, and mythological creatures—translated into English for the first time—from a classic Japanese writer
Featuring “The Qilin,” “The Siren’s Lament,” and the novella Killing O-Tsuya, this gorgeous new edition of 3 classic works translated by Bryan Karetnyk distills the essence of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s shorter fiction: the co-mingling of Japanese and Chinese mythologies, the chillingly dark side of desire, and the paper-thin line between the sublime and the depraved.
“The Qilin”: The sage Confucius travels to a kingdom ruled by a struggling duke, whose pursuit of virtue is threatened by his consort’s obsession desire for pleasure.
Killing O-Tsuya: A naïve servant elopes with his master’s daughter, only to be plunged headlong into a world of murder and corruption.
“The Siren’s Lament”: Exhausted by a lifestyle of never-ending debauchery, a young prince finds himself in possession of a dazzling, beguiling mermaid.
The essential short works of one of the most important and widely-read figured in modern Japanese literature, author of hugely popular works including In Praise of Shadows, The Makioka Sisters, and Naomi; renowned for his investigations of family dynamics, eroticism, and cultural identity.
