The decadent tales in this collection span 45 years in the extraordinary career of Japan's master storyteller, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (1886-1965), the author of Naomi, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women, and The Makioka Sisters. Made accessible in English by the expertise of translators Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy, the stories in The Gourmet Club vividly explore an array of human passions. In "The Children," three mischievous friends play sadomasochistic games in a mysterious Western-style mansion. The sybaritic narrator of "The Secret" experiments with cross-dressing as he savors the...

The decadent tales in this collection span 45 years in the extraordinary career of Japan's master storyteller, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (1886-1965), the author of Naomi, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women, and The Makioka Sisters. Made accessible in English by the expertise of translators Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy, the stories in The Gourmet Club vividly explore an array of human passions. In "The Children," three mischievous friends play sadomasochistic games in a mysterious Western-style mansion. The sybaritic narrator of "The Secret" experiments with cross-dressing as he savors the...

In Childhood Years, originally published serially in a literary magazine between 1955 and 1956, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (1886-1965) takes a meandering look back on his early life in Tokyo. He reflects on his upbringing, family, and the capital city with a conversational--and not necessarily honest--eye, offering insights into his later life and his writing.