Red Roofs and Other Stories by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (1886–1965), the author of Naomi; A Cat, a Man, and Two Women; and The Makioka Sisters, was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. The four stories in this volume date from the first and second decades of Tanizaki’s long career and reflect themes that appear throughout his work: exoticism, sexuality, sadomasochism, contrasts between traditional and modern societies, disparities between appearance and reality, the power of dreams, amorality, an interest in cinema, and a fascination with the techniques of storytelling. The stories—translated into English here for the first time—are: “The Strange Case of Tomoda and Matsunaga” (“Tomoda to Matsunaga no hanashi,” 1926), “A Night in Qinhuai” (“Shinwai no yo,” 1919), “The Magician” (“Majutsushi,” 1917), and “Red Roofs” (“Akai yane,” 1925).
“We still have far too little of Tanizaki's work from the teens and twentiesThe four stories collected here show the variety of exoticisms Tanizakiwas critically exploring at this time. ‘The Strange Case of Tomoda andMatsunaga’ treats the contemporary fascination with the West, ‘RedRoofs’ is about youth culture in Tokyo, ‘A Night in Qinhaui’ trains anexoticist eye on China, and ‘The Magician’ is pure, unadulterated fantasy.The translations are flawless—no surprise coming from Chambers andMcCarthy—and the selection fills an important gap in the list of availableEnglish translations of Tanizaki. They round out our picture of Tanizaki’sdevelopment as a writer, providing early sketches, as well as intriguingpostscripts to some of his most important works.” - J. Keith Vincent, Boston University, award-winning translator ofOkamoto Kanoko’s A Riot of Goldfish
Paul McCarthy is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Culture, Surugadai University, Saitama, Japan
Anthony H. Chambers is Professor Emeritus of Japanese at Arizona State University
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780472053278 |
| Title | Red Roofs and Other Stories |
| Author | Anthony H Chambers |
| Series | Michigan Monograph Series In Japanese Studies |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | The University of Michigan Press |
| Year published | 2016-09-30 |
| Number of pages | 277 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |