Diary of a Mad Old Man

While recovering from a stroke, seventy-seven-year-old Utsugi turns to his diary to wryly record his struggle with his ageing body and his growing desire for his beautiful daughter-in-law Satsuko, a chic, Westernised dancer with a shady past.

Two or three times a day I think to myself: maybe I’ll die today.

While recovering from a stroke, seventy-seven-year-old Utsugi turns to his diary to wryly record his struggle with his ageing body. Though impotent and in pain he notes down his growing desire for his beautiful daughter-in-law Satsuko, a chic, Westernised dancer with a shady past. Written when the author himself was an old man and shining with self-effacing humour, Tanizaki’s last novel is a tragicomedy about desire and the will to survive.

‘Lightly comic, lyrically evocative and savagely cruel’ New York Times

‘An artistic masterpiece’ Irish Times

• | Author: Junichiro Tanizaki
• | Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• | Publication Date: Sep 07, 2000
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780099285199
• | ISBN-10: 0099285193