Media Type : Book | Rating : 9.0 out of 10 | Read on : June 26^th, 2004

Released : June 1968 | New & Used Book Price : $10.95 & $2.99

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One of the masterpiece accounts written by Osamu Dazai, this book explains to us the life in a Postwar Japan when family traditions clash with the need to adopt to changes of the harsh environments and the collapsing economy. The whole book is the account of Kazuko, a young girl who transforms into a young woman while still being at loss in her mind as to whether her destiny is really the one she wants, or whether she has to keep trying. Though being at loss, she is not at all confused about how to lead life and how to be responsible, and she takes great measures to make sure she does what she wants and also attend to her aging mother, whom she loves a lot. She always keeps trying, and always keeps hoping even in the face of complete destruction and desertion.

The book gives us an idea of what kind of social and moral crisis loomed within Japan and on the Japanese societies. The author tells us the whole story vividly, and the narration is as close as possible to a personal experience that can be achieved by reading a book. Kazuko explains every stage and situation in a very colorful manner, giving us the feeling of how it is actually like to be in the same situation [though actual life is always different, but that is not a minus point of this book]. We also get an idea on how it is like for a female from such a society and almost all the societies in the world to go through any social crisis differently than a male, simply because of gender [though that is not the exact focus of the book, since almost everyone in the book is going through stress and economic crisis.

This should be an interesting read for anyone who wants to know the deep emotions within any society in particular and the difficulties males and females face in general, and how each of them copes with it differently and how the results are different for each of them. Complete with letters, poems and accounts from Kazuko and her brother, this book should be on your permanent collection if you like keeping good books around. Since this book involves pregnancies and having some affairs with others while being married, or the concept of an affair, you may have to think a bit before giving it to your daughter or son if they are very young. If they are old enough to be responsible, they may even remember this book forever. The original book was in Japanese of course, but the translation [by Donald Keene] is superb, and will make the reader think [if they did not know that it was translated] that it was written by someone from the Western countries. Overall, a great book to read anytime, it should teach a lot of lessons to almost anyone and leave a long lasting impression on people. This is one of the best books I have ever read.