About the Book: This collection brings together six of Osamu Dazai’s finest stories, written during the Second World War amid intense Japanese nationalism. Through intimate portraits of adolescence, marriage, social expectations and rebellion, Dazai explores what it means to be a moral, productive and patriotic individual in a changing society. Featuring the acclaimed novella Schoolgirl, which established Dazai as a major literary voice in 1939, these newly translated stories by Polly Barton reveal his sharp wit, psychological insight and existential depth. A compelling introduction to one of Japan’s most influential twentieth-century writers.