I chanced upon Longing and Other Stories when I was browsing NetGalley and since I like Japanese culture (this might be a bit of an understatement), I decided to request this book! I’ve not read anything by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki before, so this evocative work was an interesting experience for me.

Longing and Other Stories is a collection of three stories:

Longing – This might have been the titular story, but it was also my least favourite of the three. It’s basically about a boy taking a long, strange journey home. While the story is very atmospheric, the ending is one that, I feel, negates the journey because it’s so cliched.

Sorrows of a Heretic – According to the afterword, this is a semi-autobiographical story, but the narrator-protagonist is supposed to be more unlikeable than Tanizaki actually was. I don’t really know how much exaggeration there was, but the protagonist is extremely unlikeable – he’s arrogant, lazy, financially irresponsible, and he has no sympathy for his dying sister. He’s someone who basically lives for himself.

The ending here is interesting: originally, I really disliked the final paragraph because I didn’t think it connected to the story very well and it just reminded me of the disappointing ending of Longing. But, I read in the afterword that Tanizaki actually ended up deleting that paragraph, but they translated it so you could see the author’s original intention. I definitely agree with the deletion and I think the story was stronger when it ended one paragraph earlier.

The Story of an Unhappy Mother – This was my favourite story of the three, although it features another unlikeable protagonist. This time, the narrator is a younger son who is recounting the story of his mother and how she changed from a self-centred but cheerful and charming widow to a woman filled with sorrow and who passively punishes one of her children by withholding affection. It’s a fascinating exploration of family dynamics, and I actually enjoyed the ending, which hints at the possibility of the supernatural haunting (no spoilers but I’ll say that it reminded me of the Aoi chapter in Genji).

Overall, this was an interesting trio of stories that explore the human character. I had a bit of a rough start with this book, since I wasn’t fond of the first story, but now that I’ve finished, I would be interested in reading more from Tanizaki.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions of the book are mine.