Description
The Setting Sun is a classic novel by Osamu Dazai published shortly before the author took his life in 1948. The theme of the book was written in the context of Yōzō, a deeply troubled man who grapples with feelings of alienation and despair within the post-World War II Japan context.
Yōzō’s existence is defined by his inability to connect with others; this makes him play up joviality all the while hiding from the world the chaos inside his head. The plot unfolds both his relationships with his divorced wife, Tōko, and his search for life in this rapidly changing world. Down into depression and destructive tendencies, this time, Yōzō is drawn farther into the world’s clutches.
This novel, based on struggles of mental illness and drug addiction, has been able to extract existential despair from the mind of the author owing to societal disintegration as well as searches for identity. The meaning that Dazai brings out is introspective and poignant: the realization of the many complexities in human emotion as well as cultural shifts encroaching on personal lives.
“The Setting Sun” is a very tragic and wonderful writing about isolation and the desire for an all-inclusive relationship; it holds much weight in Japanese literature.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.