Author(s): Osamu Dazai, Allison Markin Powell (Translator)

General Fiction

This is a superb new translation of the story that propelled one of 20th century Japan’s most acclaimed writers into the spotlight. Schoolgirl is the novella that first established Dazai as a member of Japan’s literary elite. Essentially the start of Dazai’s career, the 1933 work gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language, and how it illuminated 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.