Jun’ichiro Tanizaki: 猫と庄造と二人の女 (A Cat, A Man and Two Women)

The latest addition to my website is Jun’ichiro Tanizaki‘s 猫と庄造と二人の女 (A Cat, A Man and Two Women). I read some Tanizaki many years ago so now is the time to reread those ones I read before and read those, like this one, I had not read before. This is certainly not one of his greatest works but it is fun, telling the story of a feckless man and his cat. Shozo loves his cat, Lily, but seems less devoted to both wife number one – Shinako – and wife number two – Fukuko. When he divorces Shinako to marry Fukako, Shinako, despite the fact that she does not really like the cat, persuades Fukako to make Shozo give her the cat. Shozo reluctantly agrees but is devastated at losing her and tries to see her without either Shinako or Fukuko finding out. But, as any cat owner knows, there is only going to be one winner here.