The siren's lament: essential stories - jun'ichiro tanizaki

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 Sirens Lament, and the novella Killing O-Tsuya , this gorgeous new edition of 3 classic works translated by Bryan Karetnyk distills the essence of Junichirō Tanizakis 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 consorts obsession desire for pleasure.

Killing O-Tsuya A naïve servant elopes with his masters daughter, only to be plunged headlong into a world of murder and corruption.

The Sirens 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.