A review by mrwinstonblue
Naomi by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Junichiro Tanizaki ‘s Naomi drenched me in such an intense disquietude. It is a story about the decay of a man’s masculinity, self-worth and self-esteem at the hands of an enchantress that he had moulded himself. Written as an autobiography of the narrator jōji, we follow the process of his degradation with great detail, as he succumb to the hands of Naomi, his wife, and his master. We jōji is deceived and manipulated, we the readers are too. Hence, we share his rage, confusion, anxiety and desperation.
This book strongly disturbed me, as the degradation of jōji was executed in such a believable and realistic way. That, I, you, your neighbour and anybody, could have fallen to such a decay the very same way jōji did. 

In the end jōji had fallen so deep into the darkness that he asked the readers to ridicule him, and as unapologetic as he is, we can’t help but to feel a sense of perturbing pity for him.