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Schoolgirl
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell
7 posts | 6 read | 8 to read
The novella that first propelled Dazai into the literary elite of post-war Japan. Essentially the start of Dazai's career, Schoolgirl gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language. Now it illuminates the prevalent social structures of a lost time, as well as the struggle of the individual against them--a theme that occupied Dazai's life both personally and professionally. This new translation preserves the playful language of the original and offers the reader a new window into the mind of one of the greatest Japanese authors of the 20th century.
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review
steph_phanie
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Schoolgirl" is one day in the life of a young teenage girl in post-war Japan. The author's own depression colors the pages, and the girl is anything but happy. She is overwhelmed by trying to figure everything out: who she is, who she wants to be, what society & tradition wants from her, how to be a good daughter, how to grieve her father, and how to deal with a body quickly becoming that of a woman rather than a girl. (Cont. in comments)

steph_phanie CONT'D: It is not a wholly unfamiliar battle; I daresay anyone can relate to some part of her anguish and uncertainty. However, I think the setting in which you read this novella is really important to your experience of it. And I don't recommend reading it when you have a thousand things on your mind (which is what I did).

6mo
10 likes1 comment
review
Jari-chan
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell
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Pickpick

I came along this book while reading Days At The Morisaki Bookshop and was intrigued. Dazai writes about the day of a Tokyo schoolgirl in 1937. The writing has something of a stream of consciousness, we're right in her thoughts the whole time. I really felt like being thrown back into my own teen days, sometimes feeling like an adult, then acting like a child again. The writing style is rather literate, but this somehow fits the atmosphere.

30 likes1 stack add
blurb
Bertha_Mason
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell

You could not pay me enough to be a teenager again.

quote
Bertha_Mason
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell

"Heaven forbid if beauty were to have substance. Genuine beauty is always meaningless, without virtue. It goes without saying. Which is why I love rococo."

quote
Bertha_Mason
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell

"I felt like trying to cry. I held my breath for a good while, in order to make my eyes bloodshot, and I thought I might be able to squeeze out a tear, but it was no good."

blurb
McFarchie
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell
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Looks like this is next. I love Japanese literature! 🇯🇵

erzascarletbookgasm Look forward to your thoughts, never read this author. 4y
30 likes1 comment
quote
RowanHisayo
Schoolgirl | Osamu Dazai, Marie Iida, Allison Markin Powell
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