By Junichiro Tanizaki
Utsugi Tokusuke is a 77-year old man with enough health concerns to pre-occupy him. However, all these concerns pale when compared to his biggest problem- his embarassing and pitiable infactuation with his daughter-in-law, Satsuko.
‘Satsu’, as he would like to call her, is beautiful, of course and a complete and utter bitch. Which only makes the Mad Old Man’s loins burn hotter. I hated her from the start. Its difficult not to- who likes a young, gorgeous thing who toys with the feelings (wrong, yes. dishonourable, yes. creepy, ok that too) of her father-in-law and tries to cause a friction between him and her mother-in-law! The family as a whole are no more dysfunctional than is normal- they’re in there for the long haul but dont get in your face.
The journal spans 5 months of the old man’s life and as the title suggests is written in a diary format. His entries are honest to the point of being cringe-worthy. He paints a picture of himself almost as if he were writing about somebody else. He makes no exuses for his unreasonableness, his stupid, stupid need to please Satsuko- to the extent of spending 3 Million Yen for a ‘Cat’s Eye’ ring, his contempt for his own daughters. He is utterly and completely likeable.
This book is a definite must-read- for its unapologetic honesty, its not-abnormally twisted-ness and its inexplicably endearing protaganist. Utsugi Tokusuke.
great review, will look it up … but, does he love her ‘facts’?