Reviews

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Read this book. That's what I want to say first. Find a copy someplace, and read it.

Self Portraits is probably the best book I've ever read. It creates an odd and complex juxtaposition between anecdotes completely devoid of hope, to those brimming with a curious sense of humor. It's completely worth each and every second spent reading and thinking about it.

First, I want to write about the organization of this book; it's amazing. Obviously, it's one of the most sensible options for a book like this, but nonetheless, I think it deserves appreciation. The book begins with a recollection of Dazai's life, from his childhood to his successful suicide. Besides giving the reader preparation for what they are about to read, and who they are about to read about, this also sets up a nice parallel for the rest of the book. The essays afterward are organized to match up with Dazai's life and create a chronological story, which, admittedly, is really nice and makes for a great read.

Second, I'd like to focus on the humor mentioned earlier. I would definitely consider myself to have an "interesting" kind of humor, primarily based on irony (thanks TikTok), however, Dazai's comedic perspective on some stories is still considerably enjoyable. I wouldn't go so far as to say I ever laughed out loud at his writing, but it was still fun to read.

On the opposite side of this, I want to focus on how depressing this book is. I am someone who thrives off of sad literature, and I have for years, so it's unsurprising that I love Dazai's works so much. But in comparison to other sad pieces of writing, I don't feel sad about what is actually happening; rather, I feel sad because of how it's written. I don't know if this completely makes sense, but essentially, in a book like "How to Make Friends with the Dark" (Kathleen Glasgow), I felt sad reading it because of the difficulties Tiger was facing and the grief she was dealing with. However, with "Self Portraits", I felt sad as a result of the unique lens that Dazai provides the reader with. When looking at the world in a thoroughly depressed manner, as demonstrated in this book, there's little, if anything, that acts as a light. This is such a nihilistic perspective on life that has affected me to this day (certainly not negatively; rather, I feel it has provided me with a different way to perceive everything around me. I'm not a nihilist in any way, but reading something like this has definitely left me wondering about some of the core ideals). I don't know if Dazai was absolutely a nihilist, but based on everything I have read from him, it wouldn't be a far-fetched assumption.

I don't really know what else there is that I want to talk about. One of the most memorable stories is definitely Canis Familiaris for me, but everything in this is great. If you didn't pay attention to what I said at first, READ THIS BOOK. Anyways, thanks for reading my long-winded rant about one of my obsessions :)

airborne's review against another edition

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3.0

For those curious, the 18 short stories included within this collection in order of appearance are as follows:
"My Elder Brothers"
"Train"
"Female"
"Seascape with Figures in Gold"
"No Kidding"
"A Promise Fulfilled"
"One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji"
"I Can Speak"
"A Little Beauty"
"Canis Familiaris"
"Thinking of Zensō"
"Eight Scenes from Tokyo"
"Early Light"
"Garden"
"Two Little Words"
"Merry Christmas"
"Handsome Devils and Cigarettes"
"Cherries"