TODDLER-HUNTING and Other Stories

by Kono Taeko ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 1996

Ten intense studies of erotic obsession and disturbance, written in the 1960s by a Japanese writer whose grim, not to say lurid, focus on her characters' sexuality recalls the work of (a probable influence) Junichiro Tanizaki. The title story, which describes a lonely woman's amoral fixation on young boys, is the most overtly hair-raising, but its companion pieces--in which women take forthright sexual initiatives, and sadomasochist impulses vibrate throughout their experiences and imaginings--are scarcely less challenging to conventional mores and expectations. Not for every taste but, all the same, a very accomplished work.

Pub Date: March 28, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 256

Publisher: New Directions

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1996

Categories: FICTION