This book is comprised of three short stories, The Qilin, Killing O-Tsuya, and The Siren's Lament. The Siren's Lament was the most interesting one and the only story that I somewhat enjoyed reading. The writing style makes it difficult to comprehend and visualize. The pacing was strange. I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, I didn't click with it.

The Siren’s Lament is a collection that contains two short stories and one novella in the middle by the classic Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. This was a great introduction to the fiction of Tanizaki (I’ve always wanted to read his novels, especially The Makioka Sisters), it is also a brand new translation by Bryan Karetnyk. The last short story is the title one, which is very fitting as all three stories in a way deal with the theme of women as temptresses, desire vs. morals, or reason. The most impactful and memorable text is the novella Killing O-Tsuya which tells a story of an elopement gone wrong. Some of the elements made me think of Macbeth (especially Lady Macbeth). I didn’t fully love the very ending of this story but still, it was a really captivating, somewhat theatrical, read. I breezed through these stories and would recommend them to anyone interested in less known classics. It definitely made me want to read more of Tanizaki’s works.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the e-arc. The book comes out in September 2023 :)

The Siren's Lament was an enjoyable collection of three short stories by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō. All three tales had something interesting to offer, but I think my favourite was "Killing O-Tsuya. It was the longest of the three and I felt that gave me time to really get involved with the characters and their situations. This is the second trio of short stories I've read by this author and I am certainly keen now to go on to read some of his longer works. Recommended if you like early 20th century Japanese fiction. I am giving this book 4.5 stars.