Longing and Other Stories

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

TW: suicide mention, death & illness

Longing and Other Stories is a collection of three masterfully crafted narratives focusing on themes of family (specifically the role of the son), guilt, and personal ethics. Despite their different narrative styles, all three stories have a dreamlike quality to them.

In ‘Longing', the narrator sets the scene through descriptions of a moonlit walk. He's a child, lost on a country road, unsure how to find his way home. The other people he meets along his way are difficult to recognize, there is a sense of trepidation and almost danger in every interaction. I enjoyed this story, though there were two moments that were bizarrely sexual - especially for a story narrated by a child - that felt offputting (one instance where he describes playing with his nurses' nipples as a child, and another where he mentions wanting to lick a woman's feet).

The second story, ‘Sorrows of a Heretic', focuses on the experiences and internal struggle of Shōzaburō, a young college student burdened by the looming death of his consumptive sister and the oppression of poverty. His unethical, often mean-spirited actions are contrasted by his more logical, remorseful internal monologue. There is a strong sense of guilt woven throughout this story.

However, no story features guilt more strongly than ‘The Story of an Unhappy Mother'. It's difficult to describe this story without spoiling it, so I'll leave it at that.

My only previous experience with Tanizaki's work is In Praise of Shadows, an aesthetic essay. This collection has piqued my interest in the rest of his work and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to any reader.