Books: Four Ladies of Japan

THE MAKIOKA SISTERS (530 pp.)−Junichiro Tanlzaki−Knopf ($4.95).

In any land, an unmarried girl approaching 30 is apt to get an attack of the will-I's; Will I, oh will I ever find a husband? In Japan, this question throws the girl's entire family into a near panic. The Makioka Sisters is the story of a great mate hunt conducted with all the fussy protocol, near misses and ever-lurking dangers of a de luxe African safari.

The Makiokas are an Osaka-based clan of proper Japanese who, unlike proper Bostonians, have dipped into capital. The four sisters who dominate Author Tanizaki's story are snobbish, overbred, illness...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!