The Real Osamu Dazai: A Life in Twenty Short Stories

Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment and with the inner lives of teenagers of all eras. --Andrew Martin, The New York Times nBest-known for his novels No Longer Human and The Setting Sun, Dazai was also an acclaimed writer of short stories, experimenting with a wide variety of styles and bringing to each work a sophisticated sense of humor, a broad empathy for the human condition, and a tremendous literary talent. The twenty stories in this collection include: n nn n- Memories -- An autobiographical piece in which Dazai relates episodes from his own childhood and adolescence, showing his relationship with his family, and his tendency towards introspection and self-dramatization n n- On the Question of Apparel -- A comic tour-de-force in which Dazai examines the hold that fashion has over him and how it relates to his own pathetic self-image n n- A Poor Man's Got His Pride -- A retelling of a story by 18th-century master of burlesque fiction Ihara Saikaku, about a fallen samurai who lives in poverty n n- The Sound of Hammering -- A love story set against the backdrop of the rebuilding of Tokyo after the city was totally destroyed during World War Two n n- And sixteen other stories! nBy turns hilarious, ironic, introspective, mystical and sarcastic, the stories in this collection present a fully rounded portrait of this talented writer who tried several times to take his own life and ultimately succeeded. An introduction by translator James O'Brien gives the background to Dazai's life and shows how the stories in this book, whether autobiographical or fictional, contribute to an understanding of the real Osamu Dazai. n**Recommended for readers 16 years & up. Not intended for high school classroom use due to adult content.**n