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Early Light
Early Light offers three very different aspects of Osamu Dazai's genius: the title story relates his misadventures as a drinker and a family man in the terrible fire bombings of Tokyo at the end of WWII. Having lost their own home, he and his wife flee with a new baby boy and their little girl to relatives in Kofu, only to be bombed out anew. "Everything's gone," the father explains to his daughter: "Mr. Rabbit, our shoes, the Ogigari house, the Chino house, they all burned up," "Yeah, they all burned up," she said, still smiling.
"One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji," another autobiographical tale, is much more comic: Dazai finds himself unable to escape the famous views, the beauty once immortalized by Hokusai and now reduced to a cliche. In the end, young girls torment him by pressing him into taking their photo before the famous peak: "Goodbye," he hisses through his teeth, "Mount Fuji. Thanks for everything. Click."
And the final story is "Villon's Wife," a small masterpiece, which relates the awakening to power of a drunkard's wife. She transforms herself into a woman not to be defeated by anything, not by her husband being a thief, a megalomaniacal writer, and a wastrel. Single-handedly, she saves the day by concluding that "There's nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive."
"One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji," another autobiographical tale, is much more comic: Dazai finds himself unable to escape the famous views, the beauty once immortalized by Hokusai and now reduced to a cliche. In the end, young girls torment him by pressing him into taking their photo before the famous peak: "Goodbye," he hisses through his teeth, "Mount Fuji. Thanks for everything. Click."
And the final story is "Villon's Wife," a small masterpiece, which relates the awakening to power of a drunkard's wife. She transforms herself into a woman not to be defeated by anything, not by her husband being a thief, a megalomaniacal writer, and a wastrel. Single-handedly, she saves the day by concluding that "There's nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive."
72 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2022
31 people are currently reading
1884 people want to read
About the author
Osamu Dazai
1,129 books9,492 followersOsamu DAZAI (native name: 太宰治, real name Shūji Tsushima) was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan.
With a semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life, Dazai’s stories have intrigued the minds of many readers. His books also bring about awareness to a number of important topics such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, and postwar Japan.
With a semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life, Dazai’s stories have intrigued the minds of many readers. His books also bring about awareness to a number of important topics such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, and postwar Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
November 18, 2022
Fuji from the window of an apartment in Tokyo is a painful sight. In winter it's quite clear and distinct. That small white triangle poking up over the horizon: that's Fuji. It's nothing; it's a Christmas candy. What's more, it lists pathetically to the left.
Early Light is the 5th, for me, of the first 6 of the new New Directions Storybook collection, kindly sent to be by my Goodreads friend and fellow reader Wendy - see below for the details of the collection.
Whereas the other books in the series have (I believe) all been newly published in English, this is a collection of three previously published, albeit in out-of-print and hard-to-obtain, translations of stories by Osamu Dazai (太宰 治, born Tsushima Shūji (津島修治) in 1909; died 1948).
Early Light and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, both translated by Ralph McCarthy, are from Self Portraits: Tales from the Life of Japan's Great Decadent Romantic, first published in 1993.
The subtitle is rather telling and the highest rated Amazon review for the book begins “In the world of modern Japanese literature, Dazai stands alone. Or rather perches precariously on a tall stool, rambling effusively (and just a tad drunkenly) to any with ears to hear--an open, unpretentious, warmly irreverent expression on his face the whole time.” My favourite blogger on Japanese and Korean books, Tonysreadinglist, reviewed the original collection here: https://tonysreadinglist.wordpress.co... as part of #januaryinJapan 2022.
Villon’s Wife was translated by Donald Keene, and was originally published in a New Directions anthology almost 70 years ago in 1955, which brings attention to the incredible longevity of this press, founded in 1936.
Early Light, from a 1946 story, opens
When our house in Mitaka, Tokyo, was damaged in the bombings, we moved to Kōfu, my wife's hometown. Her younger sister had been living alone in the family house there. This was in early April of 1945.
Allied planes passed frequently enough through the skies over Kōfu but hardly ever dropped any bombs. Nor was the war zone atmosphere as intense as it was in Tokyo. We were able to sleep without our air raid gear for the first time in months. I was thirty-seven. My wife was thirty-four, my daughter five, and my son two, technically, though he'd just been born in August of the previous year. Our life up to that point had not been easy by any means, but we had at least remained alive and free of serious illnesses or injuries. Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world. Stronger than that, however, was the fear that my wife and children would be killed before I was, leaving me alone. Just to think about that possibility was unendurable. I had to see to it that they survived, and that meant adopting the most prudent measures.
I had no money, however. Whenever I did get my hands on a fair sum, I would promptly drink it away. I have the serious defect known as a drinking habit.
The setting of this story is autobiographical, and the confession at the end rather speaks to the author's dissolute lifestyle. Indeed what the family-focused introduction from the narrator doesn't say is that this was his second marriage; his first end after his wife had an affair with his best friend while he was being treated for morphine addiction and after the couple tried, and failed, to commit suicide together. After this story in 1947 he and his wife had a third child, who was herself to become a celebrated author, Yūko Tsushima . However in the same year he had another child with one of his admirers. Dazai's descent into alcoholism continued and he abandoned his wife and children and moved in with yet another woman, and in 1948 he and his new partner drowned themselves together.
In the story the narrator explains how little his inlaws trust him, leaving the household in the hands of his wife's sister, a younger woman, rather than him the older male in the extended family.
And the move to Kōfu proves only a temporary respite as an American raid in July 1945 destroyed almost 80% of the city in a firestorm, including Dazai's, and in the novel, the narrator's, home.
In the story the narrator's daughter is also suffering from a severe case of conjunctivitis which has rendered her temporarily blind, and there is a poignant end to the story when her first sight, when her vision finally recovers, is of their burned home.
One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji from a 1939 story
The narrator - again an authorial stand-in - is staying near Mount Fuji and sharply critical of its much fabled views.
The slopes of Hiroshige's Mount Fuji converge at an angle of eighty-five degrees, and those in Buncho's paintings at about eighty-four, but if you study survey maps drawn by the army, you'll find that the angle formed by the eastern and western slopes is one hundred twenty-four degrees, and that formed by the northern and southern slopes is one hundred seventeen. And it's not only Hiroshige and Buncho—most paintings of Fuji, in fact, depict the slopes meeting at an acute angle, the summit slender, lofty, delicate. Some of Hokusai's renditions fairly resemble the Eiffel Tower, peaking at nearly thirty degrees.
But the real Fuji is unmistakably obtuse, with long, leisurely slopes; by no means do one hundred twenty-four degrees east-west and one hundred seventeen north-south make for a very steep peak. If I were living in India, for example, and were suddenly snatched up and carried off by an eagle and dropped on the beach at Numazu in Japan, I doubt if I'd be very much impressed at the sight of this mountain. Japan's "Fujiyama" is "wonderful" to Westerners simply because they've heard so much about it and yearned so long to see it.
The last clause of that quote, and the quote that opens my review, struck home as I still recall the joy of looking out of my Tokyo hotel window one clear winter morning, having spent several weeks in the city in the summer haze, to finally see what to me was a picture-perfect view of Mount Fuji
The story tells of a series of encounters with those also in the area - proprietors of various establishments and visiting tourists - with a comic-twist in that every time the narrator ends up encountering a different view of the mountain.
Villon’s Wife from a 1947 story is a story about a poet, a drunkel wastrel, unfaithful husband and swindler. But is it told from the perspective of his wife who during the course of the story takes control of their lives and undoes the mess her husband has got them in to.
Overall - 3.5 stars. The first and third pieces are well written but relatively simple stories, with the Fuji story giving the collection a more humourous flavour. From Tony's review, Self Portraits may be a better introduction to the author since it contains the biographical details that illuminate the stories.
New Directions "Storybook ND" collection
Created and curated by the writer and translator Gini Alhadeff, Storybook ND—our new series of slim hardcover fiction books—aims to deliver the pleasure one felt as a child reading a marvelous book from cover to cover in an afternoon. The series, beautifully designed by Peter Mendelsund, will feature original works by beloved New Directions authors, and will also introduce new writers to the list. As Alhadeff notes, “There’s nothing sweeter than to fall, for a few hours, between the covers of a perfect little book! And the image on the front, by a contemporary artist such as Francesco Clemente or Kiki Smith, will draw you in. Longer stories or shorter novels with a beautiful face: that’s Storybook ND.
The full collection is:
The English Understand Wool
Spadework for a Palace
Early Light
The Woman Who Killed the Fish
3 Streets
The Famous Magician
Early Light is the 5th, for me, of the first 6 of the new New Directions Storybook collection, kindly sent to be by my Goodreads friend and fellow reader Wendy - see below for the details of the collection.
Whereas the other books in the series have (I believe) all been newly published in English, this is a collection of three previously published, albeit in out-of-print and hard-to-obtain, translations of stories by Osamu Dazai (太宰 治, born Tsushima Shūji (津島修治) in 1909; died 1948).
Early Light and One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, both translated by Ralph McCarthy, are from Self Portraits: Tales from the Life of Japan's Great Decadent Romantic, first published in 1993.
The subtitle is rather telling and the highest rated Amazon review for the book begins “In the world of modern Japanese literature, Dazai stands alone. Or rather perches precariously on a tall stool, rambling effusively (and just a tad drunkenly) to any with ears to hear--an open, unpretentious, warmly irreverent expression on his face the whole time.” My favourite blogger on Japanese and Korean books, Tonysreadinglist, reviewed the original collection here: https://tonysreadinglist.wordpress.co... as part of #januaryinJapan 2022.
Villon’s Wife was translated by Donald Keene, and was originally published in a New Directions anthology almost 70 years ago in 1955, which brings attention to the incredible longevity of this press, founded in 1936.
Early Light, from a 1946 story, opens
When our house in Mitaka, Tokyo, was damaged in the bombings, we moved to Kōfu, my wife's hometown. Her younger sister had been living alone in the family house there. This was in early April of 1945.
Allied planes passed frequently enough through the skies over Kōfu but hardly ever dropped any bombs. Nor was the war zone atmosphere as intense as it was in Tokyo. We were able to sleep without our air raid gear for the first time in months. I was thirty-seven. My wife was thirty-four, my daughter five, and my son two, technically, though he'd just been born in August of the previous year. Our life up to that point had not been easy by any means, but we had at least remained alive and free of serious illnesses or injuries. Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world. Stronger than that, however, was the fear that my wife and children would be killed before I was, leaving me alone. Just to think about that possibility was unendurable. I had to see to it that they survived, and that meant adopting the most prudent measures.
I had no money, however. Whenever I did get my hands on a fair sum, I would promptly drink it away. I have the serious defect known as a drinking habit.
The setting of this story is autobiographical, and the confession at the end rather speaks to the author's dissolute lifestyle. Indeed what the family-focused introduction from the narrator doesn't say is that this was his second marriage; his first end after his wife had an affair with his best friend while he was being treated for morphine addiction and after the couple tried, and failed, to commit suicide together. After this story in 1947 he and his wife had a third child, who was herself to become a celebrated author, Yūko Tsushima . However in the same year he had another child with one of his admirers. Dazai's descent into alcoholism continued and he abandoned his wife and children and moved in with yet another woman, and in 1948 he and his new partner drowned themselves together.
In the story the narrator explains how little his inlaws trust him, leaving the household in the hands of his wife's sister, a younger woman, rather than him the older male in the extended family.
And the move to Kōfu proves only a temporary respite as an American raid in July 1945 destroyed almost 80% of the city in a firestorm, including Dazai's, and in the novel, the narrator's, home.
In the story the narrator's daughter is also suffering from a severe case of conjunctivitis which has rendered her temporarily blind, and there is a poignant end to the story when her first sight, when her vision finally recovers, is of their burned home.
One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji from a 1939 story
The narrator - again an authorial stand-in - is staying near Mount Fuji and sharply critical of its much fabled views.
The slopes of Hiroshige's Mount Fuji converge at an angle of eighty-five degrees, and those in Buncho's paintings at about eighty-four, but if you study survey maps drawn by the army, you'll find that the angle formed by the eastern and western slopes is one hundred twenty-four degrees, and that formed by the northern and southern slopes is one hundred seventeen. And it's not only Hiroshige and Buncho—most paintings of Fuji, in fact, depict the slopes meeting at an acute angle, the summit slender, lofty, delicate. Some of Hokusai's renditions fairly resemble the Eiffel Tower, peaking at nearly thirty degrees.
But the real Fuji is unmistakably obtuse, with long, leisurely slopes; by no means do one hundred twenty-four degrees east-west and one hundred seventeen north-south make for a very steep peak. If I were living in India, for example, and were suddenly snatched up and carried off by an eagle and dropped on the beach at Numazu in Japan, I doubt if I'd be very much impressed at the sight of this mountain. Japan's "Fujiyama" is "wonderful" to Westerners simply because they've heard so much about it and yearned so long to see it.
The last clause of that quote, and the quote that opens my review, struck home as I still recall the joy of looking out of my Tokyo hotel window one clear winter morning, having spent several weeks in the city in the summer haze, to finally see what to me was a picture-perfect view of Mount Fuji
The story tells of a series of encounters with those also in the area - proprietors of various establishments and visiting tourists - with a comic-twist in that every time the narrator ends up encountering a different view of the mountain.
Villon’s Wife from a 1947 story is a story about a poet, a drunkel wastrel, unfaithful husband and swindler. But is it told from the perspective of his wife who during the course of the story takes control of their lives and undoes the mess her husband has got them in to.
Overall - 3.5 stars. The first and third pieces are well written but relatively simple stories, with the Fuji story giving the collection a more humourous flavour. From Tony's review, Self Portraits may be a better introduction to the author since it contains the biographical details that illuminate the stories.
New Directions "Storybook ND" collection
Created and curated by the writer and translator Gini Alhadeff, Storybook ND—our new series of slim hardcover fiction books—aims to deliver the pleasure one felt as a child reading a marvelous book from cover to cover in an afternoon. The series, beautifully designed by Peter Mendelsund, will feature original works by beloved New Directions authors, and will also introduce new writers to the list. As Alhadeff notes, “There’s nothing sweeter than to fall, for a few hours, between the covers of a perfect little book! And the image on the front, by a contemporary artist such as Francesco Clemente or Kiki Smith, will draw you in. Longer stories or shorter novels with a beautiful face: that’s Storybook ND.
The full collection is:
The English Understand Wool
Spadework for a Palace
Early Light
The Woman Who Killed the Fish
3 Streets
The Famous Magician
March 26, 2024
Early Light - Osamu Dazai
تضم هذه المجموعة القصصية لأوسامو دازاي، ثلاثة قصص قصيرة .
القصة الأولى وهي القصة التي تحمل المجموعة اسمها، عن عائلة هاربة من قصف طوكيو في الأيام الأخيرة من الحرب العالمية الثانية وتلجأ إلى منزل عائلة الزوجة؛ الزوج سكير متسكع، نرى الهرب والخوف واللامبالاة التي تأتي من الإدمان من خلال عيني الأب السكير .
تذكرني أجواء الريف برواياته الشهيرة "شمس غاربة" والتي كانت آخر ماكتب .
القصة الثانية وهي بعنوان|“One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji ” قصة عن الفن والهوس بالصور الشهيرة والجمال الأخاذ والصورة التي يصدرها الغرب تحديدًا عن أمور في بلد ما في هذه الحالة جبل فوجي.
قصة هزلية وخفيفة، نرى فيها وجهًا آخر لكتابات دازاي.
القصة الثالثة“Villon’s Wife”
لا أنفك أشعر أنها من بذور رواية دازاي الشهيرة:"لم يعد بشريًا". قصة قصيرة ووحشية.
تضم هذه المجموعة القصصية لأوسامو دازاي، ثلاثة قصص قصيرة .
القصة الأولى وهي القصة التي تحمل المجموعة اسمها، عن عائلة هاربة من قصف طوكيو في الأيام الأخيرة من الحرب العالمية الثانية وتلجأ إلى منزل عائلة الزوجة؛ الزوج سكير متسكع، نرى الهرب والخوف واللامبالاة التي تأتي من الإدمان من خلال عيني الأب السكير .
تذكرني أجواء الريف برواياته الشهيرة "شمس غاربة" والتي كانت آخر ماكتب .
القصة الثانية وهي بعنوان|“One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji ” قصة عن الفن والهوس بالصور الشهيرة والجمال الأخاذ والصورة التي يصدرها الغرب تحديدًا عن أمور في بلد ما في هذه الحالة جبل فوجي.
قصة هزلية وخفيفة، نرى فيها وجهًا آخر لكتابات دازاي.
القصة الثالثة“Villon’s Wife”
لا أنفك أشعر أنها من بذور رواية دازاي الشهيرة:"لم يعد بشريًا". قصة قصيرة ووحشية.
November 7, 2023
"those who suffer shall suffer. those who fall shall fall. it had nothing to do with me, it was just the way the world was."
- from "one hundred views of mount fuji", the second story and my fav
- from "one hundred views of mount fuji", the second story and my fav
December 3, 2022
Now I know why Osamu Dazai’s writing appeals to so many readers. I can’t quite explain why but it probably has something to do with his broad exploration of human condition and suffering, his fascination towards death and one’s own downfall, and his almost effortless literary talent.
“Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world.”
I enjoyed each of the story, for different reasons. Part fiction and part autobiographical, these short stories touch on war, poverty, nature, alienation, suffering, addiction and writing. In the first story, the narrator, together with his wife and two small children moved to his sister-in-law’s house after their house was bombed during the Pacific War. The narrator loves his family but he is also pretty useless, and a drunkard. He wants to protect his family and move away to a safer location but whenever he gets his hands on money, he would promptly drink it away. The strange thing is that, although I did not like him, it’s literally impossible to be mad at him. It's possibly because, in spite of his unworthiness, he is such a soft and genuine person at heart.
The second story is rather comic and lighthearted but still has an introspective feel to it. The narrator has grown tired of Mount Fuji and funnily enough he finds it hard to escape from the sight of it or even to stop thinking about it to the point where he relents and declares “Fuji was good”. The final story is another gem. It’s a bit different since the story is being told from a woman’s perspective. The narrator is a wife to an alcoholic husband a mother to a sickly child. Despite the misfortunes that she has to endure, she makes it through by doing things she has never done before. In her own words: “There’s nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive.”
“Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world.”
I enjoyed each of the story, for different reasons. Part fiction and part autobiographical, these short stories touch on war, poverty, nature, alienation, suffering, addiction and writing. In the first story, the narrator, together with his wife and two small children moved to his sister-in-law’s house after their house was bombed during the Pacific War. The narrator loves his family but he is also pretty useless, and a drunkard. He wants to protect his family and move away to a safer location but whenever he gets his hands on money, he would promptly drink it away. The strange thing is that, although I did not like him, it’s literally impossible to be mad at him. It's possibly because, in spite of his unworthiness, he is such a soft and genuine person at heart.
The second story is rather comic and lighthearted but still has an introspective feel to it. The narrator has grown tired of Mount Fuji and funnily enough he finds it hard to escape from the sight of it or even to stop thinking about it to the point where he relents and declares “Fuji was good”. The final story is another gem. It’s a bit different since the story is being told from a woman’s perspective. The narrator is a wife to an alcoholic husband a mother to a sickly child. Despite the misfortunes that she has to endure, she makes it through by doing things she has never done before. In her own words: “There’s nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive.”
November 29, 2022
"Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world." (5)This collection of three stories by Osamu Dazai—Early Light, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, and Villon's Wife—all center in one way or another on the image of the dissipated writer (Dazai) who struggles with work and life itself and neglects other people—but who is also often hypersensitive to those around him. The conflict—the movements—between neglect and selfishness (spending all one's money and time on drink) and care for those whom one loves and is supposed to care for (the almost exaggerated concern of the father for the daughter's eyes in Early Light) makes the stories truly moving at times.
I don't often read other people's reviews on here, but because this collection was only recently published, the number of reviews is small, and my eyes inadvertently scanned some of the things that people have written about it. Two descriptions of the stories caught my attention—'comic' and 'banal'. As for the former, the stories certainly aren't comic. They are fundamentally tragic, even if there is the occasional light touch (but not often). One Hundred Views is probably the lightest of the three. As for the latter description, whether the stories are banal is more of a subjective matter. I, for what it's worth, do not think so.
March 18, 2024
I enjoyed all three of the stories put together in this book (Early Light, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, and Villon’s Wife) just about equally. I like them for the reason that made me a Dazai fan when I first read him: his fluid style, clear articulation, and directness. The content in No Longer Human gave me a deeper experience, but these stories still gave me a lot of pleasure. Dazai is dark and pessimistic and somehow wonderful at the same time – a good combination. My next Dazai will be The Setting Sun.
January 24, 2023
An introspective view in the world of Dazai, we are introduced to three short stories in this collection, on which I feel is not the best of Dazai's work; but I feel its the most different from the rest of his collection.
The fact is; he Excels in writing stories that dives down deep into the human's psyche and questions your existence in the world. Its not considered a Dazai writing if he isn't musing about death and his self-hatred , but I also love that this collection showed a different side of his writing, in which there are truths but also comical in a way that makes you chuckled at certain parts of the story.
In Early Light, which is set during the pre-war is a story of hope and loss, and mostly of the hardships during the war; in which you'll have to have your lives to your own means. I liked this story and it has the same style that Dazai usually writes.
The second story is somewhat comical and yet, I feel this story shone most. I liked that it showed a different side of Dazai's writing, and its almost poetic and beautiful in a sense.
I liked that the character in the second story mostly made a reference to Mount Fuji in a sense that is self-absorbing and yet self-discriminating as well. Dazai knew how to play with metaphors and the way I see it, the second story hooked me.
The closing of this collection brings back to the darkness that can veil when you're reading Dazai's works. It can often shock you but also surprise you as well on how much you'll be very into the lines and between the phrases.
I devoured this collection in one seating and definitely an addition to my love for Dazai's works.
4🌟 for this collection!
The fact is; he Excels in writing stories that dives down deep into the human's psyche and questions your existence in the world. Its not considered a Dazai writing if he isn't musing about death and his self-hatred , but I also love that this collection showed a different side of his writing, in which there are truths but also comical in a way that makes you chuckled at certain parts of the story.
"If I had led the life of a proper, upstanding citizen, perhaps this calamity would never have occured. The sins of the father are visited on the child."
In Early Light, which is set during the pre-war is a story of hope and loss, and mostly of the hardships during the war; in which you'll have to have your lives to your own means. I liked this story and it has the same style that Dazai usually writes.
The second story is somewhat comical and yet, I feel this story shone most. I liked that it showed a different side of Dazai's writing, and its almost poetic and beautiful in a sense.
"I'd been bewitched by Fuji that night, transformed into a simpleton, a mooncalf, completely without a will of my own. Even now, recalling it all leaves me feeling peculiarly weary and languid."
I liked that the character in the second story mostly made a reference to Mount Fuji in a sense that is self-absorbing and yet self-discriminating as well. Dazai knew how to play with metaphors and the way I see it, the second story hooked me.
The closing of this collection brings back to the darkness that can veil when you're reading Dazai's works. It can often shock you but also surprise you as well on how much you'll be very into the lines and between the phrases.
I devoured this collection in one seating and definitely an addition to my love for Dazai's works.
4🌟 for this collection!
December 21, 2022
Dazai is a wonderful, humane writer.
October 6, 2023
“Early Light” ⇝
3 stars
“One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” ⇝ 4 stars
“Villon’s Wife” ⇝ 2.5 stars
“One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” ⇝ 4 stars
“Villon’s Wife” ⇝ 2.5 stars
October 31, 2023
Not very uplifting stories about life.
October 22, 2022
This is a showcase of his excellent writing skills. Its a small collection of three "I" short stories but it packs a punch.
Early Light is about an intemperate man and his family fleeing the bombs which destroy his home at the end of world war two. He is weak and has no control over his alcoholism. He is a failure as a husband and a father, yet he remains very much a part of the family and seeks redemption. This is a bleak story, but with each calamity there is a slither of hope, which gives it a bittersweet feel.
One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji is a brilliant story of a writer trying to apply his craft at an inn with a view of Mt Fuji. Its almost like metafiction where the lines between the actual writer and writer in the story are blurred. Its facinating how he manages to get every aspect to revolve around views of Mt Fuji. It rolls on and on until the hilarious ending as he is asked by two women to take a photo of them against the backdrop of Mt Fuji.
Villon's Wife is a another story of a dissolute man who all but abandons his family. This one cuts really deep and is told from the wife's perspective. She seems vulnerable and weak but turns out to be stoic and resilient. The husband in this story shows no remorse. He wrote a book on Francois Villon, a french poet from middle ages, who was a killer and a thief. The allusion is that he is Villon.
Early Light is about an intemperate man and his family fleeing the bombs which destroy his home at the end of world war two. He is weak and has no control over his alcoholism. He is a failure as a husband and a father, yet he remains very much a part of the family and seeks redemption. This is a bleak story, but with each calamity there is a slither of hope, which gives it a bittersweet feel.
One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji is a brilliant story of a writer trying to apply his craft at an inn with a view of Mt Fuji. Its almost like metafiction where the lines between the actual writer and writer in the story are blurred. Its facinating how he manages to get every aspect to revolve around views of Mt Fuji. It rolls on and on until the hilarious ending as he is asked by two women to take a photo of them against the backdrop of Mt Fuji.
Villon's Wife is a another story of a dissolute man who all but abandons his family. This one cuts really deep and is told from the wife's perspective. She seems vulnerable and weak but turns out to be stoic and resilient. The husband in this story shows no remorse. He wrote a book on Francois Villon, a french poet from middle ages, who was a killer and a thief. The allusion is that he is Villon.
January 9, 2023
I think the nuances making these stories worthy of praise are lost in the translation, or perhaps I am simply not the intended audience. I could not pick up on the significance of any of the three stories, but the narrators of each went through some kind of change during the course of the stories.
December 25, 2022
Three smaller works of Dazai Osamu's compiled into a longer, approximately 60 page, book composed of Early Light, One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji, and Villon's Wife.
Early Light, Dazai's depiction of a family struggling through the throes of WWII, is vastly interesting and an insightful take on a Japanese citizen's WWII perspective, immediately foreign but familiar to the writer himself who survived through the war.
One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji was my personal favourite excerpt, one I would stand alone rate 5 stars, and it Dazai's personal opinions on Mt Fuji, but moreso an insight into what remains stagnant in one's life. Although a greatly awed natural wonder, for Dazai, deeply sentimental and depressed from his circumstances, Mt Fuji is simultaneously irritating as a formidable monument, an object of awed enormity in a destroyed land but also a resentfully familiar picture. His fluctuating moods on Mt Fuji feel incredibly human as his circumstances change his opinion on the volcano in a moment.
Villon's Wife tells the rather depressing tale of a woman struggling to make ends meet. Dazai's depiction of women always feels quite fresh, especially for the time period, especially in Mrs Otani who experiences such depressing hardships that she can do little more than laugh and find small joys in things like light reflecting on a glass in the morning. it rather bleakly captures the mood of individuals struggling through post-WWII, the criminal behaviour nearly all resort to and the Japanese desire to maintain appearances throughout it all but with a hint of hopelessness.
Early Light, Dazai's depiction of a family struggling through the throes of WWII, is vastly interesting and an insightful take on a Japanese citizen's WWII perspective, immediately foreign but familiar to the writer himself who survived through the war.
One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji was my personal favourite excerpt, one I would stand alone rate 5 stars, and it Dazai's personal opinions on Mt Fuji, but moreso an insight into what remains stagnant in one's life. Although a greatly awed natural wonder, for Dazai, deeply sentimental and depressed from his circumstances, Mt Fuji is simultaneously irritating as a formidable monument, an object of awed enormity in a destroyed land but also a resentfully familiar picture. His fluctuating moods on Mt Fuji feel incredibly human as his circumstances change his opinion on the volcano in a moment.
Villon's Wife tells the rather depressing tale of a woman struggling to make ends meet. Dazai's depiction of women always feels quite fresh, especially for the time period, especially in Mrs Otani who experiences such depressing hardships that she can do little more than laugh and find small joys in things like light reflecting on a glass in the morning. it rather bleakly captures the mood of individuals struggling through post-WWII, the criminal behaviour nearly all resort to and the Japanese desire to maintain appearances throughout it all but with a hint of hopelessness.
March 23, 2023
A short and simple story from Dazai. Drawing a point of you, of life, art, the way we are. It is gentle even. Those that suffer will suffer. Those who fall will fall. I find the world littered with romance everywhere, or I should say I romanticize the world around me. I think as a writer you have to. As an artist, you have to. Maybe those feelings leak and seep on to the people close to me. We see them as something much more. Sometimes it’s good. We all have flaws, so someone who can understand them and still see the beautiful person, maybe that is more important. For someone to make you their art, is rare and beautiful. This book is a refreshing reminder to find someone you would create art for. Whatever your art may be.
September 20, 2025
Translated from the Japanese by Donald Keene and Ralph McCarthy.
One of the books in the New Directions "Storybook ND" collection.
This slim volume collects 3 short stories: Early Light, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, and Villon's Wife. Could be that things were lost in translation , but none of these stories resonated with me.
One of the books in the New Directions "Storybook ND" collection.
This slim volume collects 3 short stories: Early Light, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, and Villon's Wife. Could be that things were lost in translation , but none of these stories resonated with me.
November 28, 2022
Three very short stories included in this storybook. Early Light was my favorite one. Atmospheric.
May 21, 2024
Excellent, albeit too brief short story collection. Well crafted, but not quite as impactful as his two masterworks. Any Dazai is good Dazai though, so give this a shot!
Read
April 4, 2023:'(
Read
December 31, 2024Mt. Fuji: A christmas candy, a chinese lantern plant, a disappointment from all angles
September 29, 2023
Maybe it's the translation, or maybe it's deliberately unflashy, but I found this dull, flat and plodding. The second star is based on the possibility that it reads better in the original Japanese.
January 4, 2024
Early Light follows a family of four that is forced to flee their homes due to bombs being set off in Tokyo during WWII. It's a short tale of their misadventures during the fires and fight for survival.
One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji is the next story with a humorous tone. It follows a writer who cannot seem to escape the views of Fuji that has been immortalized by Hokusai and Buncho in their paintings. He doesn't see anything appealing about the mountain and instead finds countless flaws such as its width and height.
Villon's Wife is the final story and deviates from Osamu's other work as this is told through the perspective of a woman. She is the wife of an alcoholic who stole money from a couple who ran a bar that he frequented. She vows to the couple that she would pay his debt and winds up taking a job at the bar.
One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji is the next story with a humorous tone. It follows a writer who cannot seem to escape the views of Fuji that has been immortalized by Hokusai and Buncho in their paintings. He doesn't see anything appealing about the mountain and instead finds countless flaws such as its width and height.
Villon's Wife is the final story and deviates from Osamu's other work as this is told through the perspective of a woman. She is the wife of an alcoholic who stole money from a couple who ran a bar that he frequented. She vows to the couple that she would pay his debt and winds up taking a job at the bar.
April 30, 2023
Early Light is a collection of three stories by Osamu Dazai that exemplify his semi-autobiographical I-novel genre. The title story presents Dazai's struggles as a family man and alcoholic during the WWII bombings in Japan. One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji satirically offers a unique perspective on Japan's famous mountain. In Villon's Wife, Dazai presents a working-class woman's hardships as she takes on a job to pay off her husband's tab, while her husband remains unaware. The story elicits empathy for flawed and self-loathing characters, and Dazai invites readers to consider the perspectives and struggles of both characters. The collection showcases Dazai's literary prowess in capturing complex emotions in a captivating and engaging style.
March 17, 2024
This book was fascinating as it delved into the impact of poverty on everyday life. The idea that being normal while living in poverty is an unattainable zenith is a thought-provoking concept. These quotes were my favorite parts of the book.
"the weather would be fine tomorrow—but so what? What did that have to do with me? It would strike me as so absurd that I’d end up chuckling wryly to myself as I lay on my futon. "
"Those who suffer shall suffer. Those who fall shall fall. It had nothing to do with me, it was just the way the world was. Thus I forced myself to affect indifference as I gazed down at them, but it was still more than a little painful. "
“There’s nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive.”
"the weather would be fine tomorrow—but so what? What did that have to do with me? It would strike me as so absurd that I’d end up chuckling wryly to myself as I lay on my futon. "
"Those who suffer shall suffer. Those who fall shall fall. It had nothing to do with me, it was just the way the world was. Thus I forced myself to affect indifference as I gazed down at them, but it was still more than a little painful. "
“There’s nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive.”
December 6, 2023
I purchased this book purely on aesthetic grounds. I'd been keen to read a Dazai but wasn't in any rush. From what I've read, he was a troubled character who met a somewhat grizzly end. I've read Territory of Light by his daughter, Yuko Tsushima, and enjoyed its stripped-back prose, perhaps foreshadowing her father's style.
The copy I acquired, published by New Directions, looks like a children's book. The book's design echoes those gold-spine storybooks that line many kids' bookshelves (including mine, once upon a time). The publisher's intention is that the stories are short enough to consume in one sitting. Complete with a large font and wide margins, other books in the series include Ginzburg's The Road to the City and Lispector's The Woman Who Killed the Fish. These books aren't for children; their themes and narratives would probably scar children. But, their appearance gives them a fun and attractive allure for adults who want something quick and good to read.
I digress, back to Dazai. Early Light consists of three short stories: two of which are dark in tone and one that's quite funny. Dealing with themes of abandonment, infidelity, and Mount Fuji, the stories showcase Dazai's range as a writer. How much of his style, which comes across as simplistic and exacting, is a result of the translation, I can't say. Regardless, I enjoy that type of unadorned writing. There's a time and place for flowery language, typically in more baroque fare. Dazai's stories in this collection consist of ordinary people with otherwise simple problems; there's no need for extraneous or verbose prose.
The stories aren't extraordinary; they probably won't linger in your mind twenty minutes after you close the book. Yet, they offer an enjoyable reading experience in the moment, providing a few laughs and moments of tender poignance.
--
Three stories by #Osamu Dazai:
#EarlyLight
#OneHundredViewsofMountFuji
#VillonsWife
#StorybookND series published by #NewDirections (2023)
Translated by #RalphMcCarthy and #DonaldKeene
The copy I acquired, published by New Directions, looks like a children's book. The book's design echoes those gold-spine storybooks that line many kids' bookshelves (including mine, once upon a time). The publisher's intention is that the stories are short enough to consume in one sitting. Complete with a large font and wide margins, other books in the series include Ginzburg's The Road to the City and Lispector's The Woman Who Killed the Fish. These books aren't for children; their themes and narratives would probably scar children. But, their appearance gives them a fun and attractive allure for adults who want something quick and good to read.
I digress, back to Dazai. Early Light consists of three short stories: two of which are dark in tone and one that's quite funny. Dealing with themes of abandonment, infidelity, and Mount Fuji, the stories showcase Dazai's range as a writer. How much of his style, which comes across as simplistic and exacting, is a result of the translation, I can't say. Regardless, I enjoy that type of unadorned writing. There's a time and place for flowery language, typically in more baroque fare. Dazai's stories in this collection consist of ordinary people with otherwise simple problems; there's no need for extraneous or verbose prose.
The stories aren't extraordinary; they probably won't linger in your mind twenty minutes after you close the book. Yet, they offer an enjoyable reading experience in the moment, providing a few laughs and moments of tender poignance.
--
Three stories by #Osamu Dazai:
#EarlyLight
#OneHundredViewsofMountFuji
#VillonsWife
#StorybookND series published by #NewDirections (2023)
Translated by #RalphMcCarthy and #DonaldKeene
January 18, 2026
El firmamento se tornará opaco. La brisa nos golpeará las mejillas. Gaia no será —esta Gaia—, y yo le diré a un ser que todavía no conozco, o que todavía no ha gozado de la qualia: «Por estas tierras, ¿sabes? Caminó un hombre luctuoso, santo mártir, que consagró su existencia al dolor y nada más. Era maravilloso. Maravilloso y ridículo».
Después de aquello ya no sé nada. Yo, inocente, habré de esperar una sonrisa como respuesta. No estaría nada mal si aquel me quisiera. Gracias, señor atormentado; gracias.
Después de aquello ya no sé nada. Yo, inocente, habré de esperar una sonrisa como respuesta. No estaría nada mal si aquel me quisiera. Gracias, señor atormentado; gracias.
November 19, 2024
"Having survived so much adversity, even I felt a desire to go on living a bit longer, if only to see how things would turn out with the world."
Nowhere close to Dazai's best but I find the stories calming nonetheless.
Nowhere close to Dazai's best but I find the stories calming nonetheless.
June 22, 2023
Three short stories, with the one in the middle being the weakest. The other two, however, are excellent.
This hardcover edition though, with a price of 18 USD and only 72 pages, should have been longer, as they could have easily added another story or two. Oh well, at least it looks beautiful.
This hardcover edition though, with a price of 18 USD and only 72 pages, should have been longer, as they could have easily added another story or two. Oh well, at least it looks beautiful.
January 14, 2024
[3,5/5]
it was okay, środkowe opowiadanie najlepsze w mojej skromnej opinii
it was okay, środkowe opowiadanie najlepsze w mojej skromnej opinii
August 25, 2024
“There’s nothing wrong with being a monster, is there? As long as we can stay alive.” A grim set of stories about how bad life was in WW2 era Japan.
Read
June 13, 2025Well, those were depressing
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