With great novels such as Naomi and Some Prefer Nettles, Junichiro Tanizaki is definitely one of Japan’s finest writers. His characters are complex, scenes are subtlety expressed and there are even moments of humor within his works. The Gourmet Club is a collection of six short stories — a “sextet” if you will, and while these tales reveal an array of subject matter and style, they are ultimately very good tales that just miss the mark for greatness.
Tanizaki seems to write his best in the novel form — it is within this longer form where he can develop characters to their full potential, rather than just offering snippets or scenes. In his novella, The Key, for example, Tanizaki shows he can approach experimental narrative successfully, but thus far, none of the shorter works of his that I’ve read can compare to his best novels.
“The Children” is one of Tanizaki’s early stories, and it is a well written, albeit rather odd, tale. A group of children play sadistic games in which ideas of power, sex and dominance between the sexes are explored. While it is possible to intellectualize this hierarchy of domination into a lengthy Freudian exploration, ultimately readers are given glimpses into the strange sorts of games young children play, and despite the sadism involved, the tale reads more silly than disturbing.
“The Secret” is the second tale within the collection, and Tanizaki does a good job of establishing the character, yet overall, this tale is not as complex as “The Children.” The big “secret” the tale speaks of isn’t really any shock, and while it is still a solid tale, it is a drop-off in quality from the first.
“The Two Acolytes” involves religious themes and is a rather good story. Translator Paul McCarthy writes a great deal about this tale in his introduction, where he notes that this is an atypical story within this collection and also for Tanizaki. He writes: “Here two boys engaged in religious training on Mt. Hiei are faced with a choice: to remain on the holy mountain or to enter the world outside, with its pleasures and pains.” The tale offers an interesting paradox, in that, to remain in a world without pain would also involve a world of isolation and in a sense, unreality. In contrast, what we define as real will also accompany a kind of joy that can only be obtained from having to engage in such reality. The tale offers interesting layers as far as religion and fantasy go, and the balance one must endure when choosing which life to live. “The Two Acolytes” is one of the best tales in this collection.
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