Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai 津島修治

Schoolgirl by Osamu  Dazai (1939, translated 2011 by Allison Powell)

The Reading Life Japanese Literature Project


Schoolgirl is the second work by Osamu Dazai-(1909 to 1948-Japan) that I have read. My previous read was No Longer Human.    Both of these titles are among the highest regarded, most read post WWII Japanese novels.  (There is some background information on him in my prior posts.)

I first heard of Schoolgirls in a posting on Nihon Distractions:   Readings in Translated Japanese Literature.   (I urge anyone into Japanese literature and culture to follow that blog.)    The book is a first person narrative of a teenage female whose father  has recently died.   Schoolgirl is the first book that brought Dazai nationwide attention.   It gives us a good look at how life looked to a teenager in Japan just as WWII was getting started.

I think this book should be read after you have read his major works.   The writing level in the translated prose is very high and it does feel like the thoughts of a teenage girl with  a heavy preoccupations with her looks and clothes.

I was provided a complementary Kindle edition of this book by the publisher.

Mel u