Dazai, Osamu

OSAMU DAZAI (1909-1948) is one of the most highly respected modern Japanese authors and is widely regarded as one of the central figures in post-war Japanese literature. He was known by contemporaries for his eclectic lifestyle, inventive use of language, and his multiple suicide attempts, which led to his final, successful attempt in 1948.

His two major novels, NO LONGER HUMAN and THE SETTING SUN, are considered modern-day classics in Japan and continue to be widely read. THE SETTING SUN (1947) propelled the already popular writer into a celebrity. Set in the early postwar years, it depicts a nation in social and moral crisis and probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society. The protagonist in NO LONGER HUMAN (1948) is unable to properly understand how to interact and understand people. He is hurtling headlong towards self-destruction, all the while despairing of the seeming impossibility of changing the course of his life. Without sentimentality, he records the casual cruelties of life and its fleeting moments of human connection and tenderness.

Dazai also experimented with a wide variety of short story styles and brought to each a sophisticated sense of humor, a broad empathy for the human condition, and a tremendous literary talent. With their semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life, many of his stories describe with honesty his sense of personal isolation and his debauchery, his heavy drinking and suicide attempts, and his struggle against a staid literary establishment. Several collections are included here.


The following books are in ePUB format unless otherwise noted:


== FICTION ==

* Blue Bamboo: Tales (Kurodahan, 2013). Ralph F. McCarthy, trans.
* Crackling Mountain and Other Stories (Tuttle, 1989). James O’Brien, trans.
* No Longer Human (New Directions, 1973). Donald Keene, trans.
* Otogizoshi (Kurodahan, 2011). Ralph McCarthy, trans. -- ePUB + PDF
* Run, Melos! and Other Stories (Kodansha, 1988). Ralph McCarthy, trans. -- PDF
* Schoolgirl (One Peace, 2011). Allison Markin Powell, trans.
* Selected Stories and Sketches (Cornell, 1983). James O’Brien, trans. -- PDF
* Setting Sun, The (New Directions, 1968). Donald Keene, trans.


== NON-FICTION ==

* Return to Tsugaru (Kodansha, 1985). James Westerhoven, trans. -- PDF
* Self-Portraits (Kodansha, 1991). Ralph F. McCarthy, trans. -- PDF

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