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The Setting Sun

By Osamu Dazai
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai paints a poignant picture of post-World War II Japan through the eyes of a declining aristocratic family. The novel explores themes of societal change, personal despair, and the struggle to adapt to a rapidly modernising world. It captures the erosion of traditional values and the emotional turmoil faced by individuals during a time of transformation.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are intrigued by post-war Japanese society and the struggles of individuals facing the decline of aristocracy. Its introspective narrative and exploration of existential themes provide a poignant look at change, identity, and resilience, told through the experiences of a disillusioned family grappling with evolving norms.

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Now in a beautiful gift cloth edition, a masterpiece of postwar Japanese literature

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This powerful novel of a nation in social and moral crisis was first published by New Directions in 1956. Set in the early postwar years, The Setting Sun probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society.

The influence of Osamu Dazai's novel has made "people of the setting sun" a permanent part of the Japanese language, and his heroine, Kazuko, a young aristocrat who deliberately abandons her class, a symbol of the anomie which pervades so much of the modern world.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Setting Sun is often noted for its exploration of post-war Japanese society and the psychological complexities of its characters. Yukio Mishima criticised Dazai for his ability to reveal uncomfortable truths about human nature. Yasunari Kawabata viewed the work as a reflection of deviant soliloquies, while The New York Times Book Review praised it for offering lasting and beautiful insights.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780811234443

Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 November 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Contributors:

  • Translated by Donald Keene
  • Translated by Donald Keene
  • Translated by Donald Keene

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 213.0mm

Weight: 352g

Pages: 192

Collections

Classic Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Osamu Dazai

About the Author

Osamu DazaiΒ was born in 1909 into a powerful landowning family of northern Japan. A brilliant student, he entered the French department of Tokyo University in 1930, but later boasted that in the five years before he left without a degree, he had never attended a lecture. Dazai was famous for confronting head-on the social and moral crises of postwar Japan before he committed suicide by throwing himself into Tokyo’s Tamagawa Aqueduct. His body was found on what would have been his 39th birthday. Donald Keene, the author of dozens of books in both English and Japanese as well as the famed translator of Dazai, Kawabata, and Mishima, was the first non-Japanese to receive the Yomiuri Prize for Literature.

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