Naomi: A Novel
by Junichiro Tanizaki
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Book Summary Information
Author: Junichiro TanizakiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-04-10
ISBN: 0375724745
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of Naomi: A Novel
Book Review: Western Fetish Through Japanese Eyes
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first time reading a novel by Tanizaki Junichiro and I think I picked a good one to start with. In the novel, Tanizaki creates a realistic character in Joji. I think that Joji mirrors aspects of Tanizaki life as well. Tanizaki was infatuated with the West and then suddenly he only wanted to be Japanese and immerse himself in Japanese culture. Joji is so preoccupied with the West that he chooses a young girl because of her Western sounding name. Then he pays for English lessons, takes her to American movies, goes out with her to trendy restaurants to indulge in steak, and buys expensive Western clothes. It almost as if Joji is pruning a bonsai tree as he carefully molds her into his ideal. But this tree has a wild root that grows up into his own worst nightmare. I do feel sorry for Joji always giving in to Naomi's seemingly endless demands. I actually think he should run off and start a new life anywhere else but Naomi has other twisted plans for whomever she decides to get involved with. I don't fault Naomi due to her background that is revealed as the story gets going. Actually, I think that the whole novel is a satire of all things Western by Tanizaki. Even for someone like me who spent time in Japan because I loved Japanese culture, there comes a period where you become disillusioned by whatever country that you think you love. The Japanese often tell Americans living in Japan that after 3-years you either love Japan or hate it and never want to go back. I had mixed feeling after the 3rd year too. I think this novel was written during Tanizaki's disillusion with the West and knowing that I'm not judging him for it. In fact, this novel was probably a way of allowing Tanizaki to express himself in a way to create a comparison between the West and Japan and how people view each other, stereotypes and all. I do the same thing myself. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in Japanese movies that when someone asked me about an American movie like Iron Man, I don't want to talk about it. So I'm looking at it from the prospective of a Japanese fan. Also, in order to explain Japan to other people, I often pick American pop culture because I know about it and it makes some things easy to explain. Nothing always translate so smoothly between east and west and that's where problems start.
Anyway, I found Naomi to be an enjoyable read by a master storyteller who knows his characters with all their glorious faults intact. Truly great characters should have quirks and faults or the story isn't interesting. I will probably read The Key or The Makioka Sisters next.
Summary of Naomi: A Novel
Na-o-mi. The three syllables of this name, unusual in 1920s Japan, captivate a 28-year-old engineer, who soon becomes infatuated with the girl so named, a teenaged café waitress. Drawn to her Eurasian features and innocent demeanor, Joji is eager to whisk young Naomi away from the seamy underbelly of post?World War I Tokyo and to mold her into his ideal wife. But when the two come together to indulge their shared passion for Western culture, Joji discovers that Naomi is far from being the naïve girl of his fantasies, and his passion descends into a comically helpless masochism.A literary masterpiece that helped to establish Junichiro Tanizaki as Japan's greatest novelist, Naomi is both a hilarious story of one man's obsession and torment, and a brilliant evocation of a nation's cultural confusion.
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