Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
medium-paced
only recognized one or two by name but as I read it turns out all the featured stories were ones I'd read (in more typical versions) in the Japanese tales book I adored as a kid. so it was kind of full circle reading this?
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I intensely loved and mildly hated the way the narrator (author) told each story. I loved the history and culture lessons before each tale as well as the state of mind of Japanese citizens during World War II. But the narrator had a tendency to wander his focus which threw me into a wandering state of mind and away from reading.
I'm not familiar with these fairytales so the opening to each story was confusing at times. The reread score is high because I want to start over now that I know the stories.
I'm not familiar with these fairytales so the opening to each story was confusing at times. The reread score is high because I want to start over now that I know the stories.
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Human beings are like that, though. They'll do the most unbelievably cruel things when you least expect it.Dazai Osamu (太宰治)'s「お伽草紙」 or 「お伽草子」 has only been translated into a handful of languages, and only once into English (Ralph McCarthy, 2011). The only other translations of which I'm aware are into Italian (Massimo Soumaré, 2019), Polish (Katarzyna Sonnenberg, 2019), and Spanish (Daniel Aguilar, 2013).
Urashima-san and The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue were my favourites. I couldn't make much sense of Click-Clack Mountain though. Overall entertaining. More of a 3.5/5
In his typical sarcastic and pessimistic fashion, Dazai retells famous Japanese fairy tales in his own way, adding to the characters and situation as he sees fit. I especially enjoyed his explanations of why he changed them the way he did, and his critical observation of these tales. A nice read, but it helps to at least know the fairy tales in their original form before reading this book.
adventurous
medium-paced