Quicksand

Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

Quicksand (1928) is one of Tanizaki’s most significant novels, yet it was not translated into European languages until 1982. The writer’s popular type of seductress, prone to domination, takes on new features here. Another favourite theme of the author — dissatisfaction with family life rooted in tradition — is also revealed from an unexpected angle. A love triangle involving forbidden relationships, desires and suspicions, pretences and arguments, perverse and desperate play is explored with meticulous precision. The twists and turns of the plot, and the events driven by mutual deception, hold the reader in constant suspense. The denouement invites reflection on the enduring problems of life, death, and love.