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tyhud's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
zygomatic's review
3.0
A decent collection of stories, though most of them are not great. A few are retellings of Biblical stories and Japanese folklore, which sounds interesting...
-The first story, "Memories," is great and feels closely related to Dazai's A Shameful Life. Read this if you enjoyed that book and want to learn more about Dazai's possible perspectives and psyche.
-"Undine" and "Monkey Island" are well-written and strange, and I see connections to modern Japanese writers who use surreal elements in their stories today (Haruki Murakami especially).
-"Heed My Plea" is an interesting take on Judas Iscariot.
-"Melos, Run!" is silly.
-"On the Question of Apparel" is tedious.
-"A Poor Man's Got His Pride," "The Monkey's Mound," "The Sound of Hammering," and "Taking the Wen Away" are all okay.
-"Crackling Mountain" is absolutely my least favorite. Being the headlining story of the volume, I had high expectations. Dazai repeats himself far more than the previous stories. He offers subjective analysis of the older tale and children's version he borrows the story from--this meandering nonsense is not successful. In fact, this story and structure are quite awful. If there is comedy here, it's lost in translation.
I started skipping the translator's introductions for each story, instead reading each one immediately following the story to avoid plot elements. This allowed me to prevent the translator's judgments and analysis from affecting my interpretations as well. The background on some of the stories is more interesting than the stories themselves in some cases (like "Heed My Plea").
-The first story, "Memories," is great and feels closely related to Dazai's A Shameful Life. Read this if you enjoyed that book and want to learn more about Dazai's possible perspectives and psyche.
-"Undine" and "Monkey Island" are well-written and strange, and I see connections to modern Japanese writers who use surreal elements in their stories today (Haruki Murakami especially).
-"Heed My Plea" is an interesting take on Judas Iscariot.
-"Melos, Run!" is silly.
-"On the Question of Apparel" is tedious.
-"A Poor Man's Got His Pride," "The Monkey's Mound," "The Sound of Hammering," and "Taking the Wen Away" are all okay.
-"Crackling Mountain" is absolutely my least favorite. Being the headlining story of the volume, I had high expectations. Dazai repeats himself far more than the previous stories. He offers subjective analysis of the older tale and children's version he borrows the story from--this meandering nonsense is not successful. In fact, this story and structure are quite awful. If there is comedy here, it's lost in translation.
I started skipping the translator's introductions for each story, instead reading each one immediately following the story to avoid plot elements. This allowed me to prevent the translator's judgments and analysis from affecting my interpretations as well. The background on some of the stories is more interesting than the stories themselves in some cases (like "Heed My Plea").
yulyakrasii's review
3.0
я не змогла дочитати останні історії з цієї збірки, тому шо мене вже воротило від нудьги. я читала декілька інших робіт дазая - вони чудові, проте ця збірка мене не зачепила. можливо, я занадто мало знаюся на культурних речах, до яких відсилають історії й тому мені було нецікаво. можливо, мені й так би не сподобалося. heed my plea та monkey island - найкращі історії з цієї збірки, усе інше не надто запам‘яталося.
caseyreadslol's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
imo self portraits remains the best dazai short story collection released in english, but unlike that this is not being resold for hundreds of united states dollars so there's a good chance I may buy a copy to reread someday. maybe I'll have more to say then (memories was a stand out, it's nice to have finally read run, melos considering its notoriety but I didn't get much from it)
imandanial's review
5.0
Membaca karya Dazai yang beberapa kali cuba membunuh diri ini (akhirnya mati membunuh diri dengan teman wanitanya), saya jangkakan pengalaman semacam rasa kosong, mundane, mendatar seperti yang rasa tatkala menelaah karya Murakami.
Wah, rupanya boleh tahan berwarna-warni cerpen-cerpen Dazai. Ada kepelbagaian emosi dan kekayaan persoalan melibatkan manusia dan juga haiwan.
Wah, rupanya boleh tahan berwarna-warni cerpen-cerpen Dazai. Ada kepelbagaian emosi dan kekayaan persoalan melibatkan manusia dan juga haiwan.
cc24680's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sky_reaper's review
4.0
Dazai was at his finest of his signature self-mockery, absurdity, and humor in some of his retelling of tales and some personal accounts in this collection.
nico_lechat's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25