Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The primer to Tanizaki's works, a must-read., January 21, 2004
When I first picked up "Naomi", known as "Chijin no Ai" in Japanese, it was in a Japanese literature class at my University. My first exposure to Tanizaki came in reading a short story called "The Tattooer" ("Shisei", which can be found in another collection of his short stories called "Seven Japanese Tales" in English), so I knew he was a good writer with some perverse ideas. Little did I know what I was in for with "Naomi".We were to read it in a week, which is quite the task with a full schedule. I finished it in three days and reread it a week later. I was amazed at its intricacies. The story is set in early 1920s Japan, a period when the import of Western fashion, style and culture was at its height and every Japanese person found him or herself enamored with imported American and European literature, dance, clothing and people. Naomi is a young Japanese waitress with a Western look that a man named Joji finds himself obsessing over at first sight. Even her name, he remarks, resembles Western names. He adopts her and begins to mold her into his perfect woman. The story follows his continual perfecting of her behavior, and her treatment of him. The question soon arises, however, as to who is truly the dominant force in their fragile relationship. In what I've now come to find is Tanizaki standard, all is never as it seems, and the relationships established throughout the story are rarely as simple as they first appear. "Naomi" serves as a primer to Tanizaki's entire body of work, being one of his earliest full-length novels and coming before his shift from an obsession with the West to a love of his own traditional Japanese culture. Since reading it, I've had the opportunity to read much of the rest of his work, and I'm thankful I started with "Naomi". Tanizaki is cited as shifting his views of the West soon after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and "Naomi", published in 1924, is his work at that tipping point. Although on the surface it seems to praise a Western infatuation, it throws into question what damage it's doing to the Japanese mind and culture. A powerful work of perverse fiction, and a great introduction to the twisted, cerebral world of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, I highly recommend "Naomi" to readers tired of the typical stories that are so prevalent in our modern literature and as an introduction to the world of one of the greatest 20th century Japanese authors.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fool's Love, October 19, 2005
Tanizaki's theme is obsession. Almost all of his works revolve around obsession in some way, usually a consuming devotion to something that others find revolting. Rarely does a Tanizaki character worship something beautiful, or worthy. Rarely does this obsession result in happiness.
"Naomi" ("Chijin no Ai" or "A Fool's Love") showcases these themes in a typical Tanizaki style, showing the weakness of devotion and the soullessness of beauty. His writing style is what keeps his stories from being stomach turning, and he manages to keep the reader going through the very darkest pits of self-loathing. Beautiful prose and ugly people.
In "Naomi," the aging salaryman Joji seeks to build himself a toy, a fascinating pet with bright plumage and sophistication to color and decorate his drab and mundane existence. The foundation for this masterpiece, which he will sculpt and paint, is a 15-year old bar maid named Naomi. She is a low girl, of no station or wealth, but her unusual name sets her apart from others, and he moves her into his house and begins her training.
Joji fancies himself Pygmalion, sculpting and pruning his caged bird, primping her and spoiling her. He encourages her fantasies and wraps her in Western clothes (an extreme rarity at the time) and outrageous kimonos. Her whims are his directives, and their games become more and more sexual in nature. But rather than Pygmalion, Joji finds himself in the role of Dr. Frankenstein, soon to be destroyed by his monstrous creation. Naomi grows soulless and spectacular, a hollow beauty who is fully aware of her power over Joji. She is manipulative and without morals, but Joji's investment in her is so great, and his ego so wrapped up in her, that he cannot let her go even when he discovers the horrible truth. It is a vicious whirlpool that he finds himself dragged into.
When considering "Naomi," one must understand Japan of the 1920's. A slowly emerging country, Western contacts were still rare, and the charade of Western culture was the ultimate in daring fashion. Women were assigned specific roles, and the idea of a woman choosing her male lovers was a scandalous concept. The "Modern Girl" represented by Naomi was an undefined thing, where women were attempting to create something new, with no role models and fewer inhibitions. Such was the power of this novel at the time that "Naomis" followed in its wake, and "Naomi-ism" became the word to describe their new sub-culture. Hated as she is in modern times, she was an idol to oppressed girls seeking freedom.
Sometimes a hard novel, with no heroes and no admirable characters, "Naomi" is still an important Japanese novel and a good read to boot. It launched Tanizaki's career in many ways, setting the stage for more obsession and repulsion to come.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different opinion, June 28, 2003
By A Customer
Unlike the other reviewers, I have a different take on this book. Although admittedly disturbing, it is a book about love. What might disturb the other reviewers is to me the expression of true love.We've all grown up hearing that Love is kind, Love is pure, Love is innocent. What this book illustrates is that Love is none of these! Love is possessive, Love is controlling, Love is needy. And to top it off, Love has no pride. Tanizaki has masterfully drawn the reader in to show that indeed, with Love, you do not set up a schedule and a plan ... you do not control Love. Love controls you.
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