Scan barcode
A review by tsushimashu
Daffodil by Osamu Dazai
5.0
i must say that i am completely biased towards dazai's writings. i worship them like a religion, this one included !! this edition includes the short story Daffodil, an interview between the translators, and a second short story Wish Fulfilled. despite their very short length, i thoroughly enjoyed both stories. daffodil really resonated with me and invoked a lot of heavy emotions. both stories are really great and i recommend reading them!
the story daffodil follows the unnamed main character and his connection to a woman named shizuko. shizuko had fallen into depression after her family went bankrupt. her husband encourages her to start painting as a way to cope, she begins taking lessons and is heavily praised by everyone. they treat her like a genius and she starts to go insane because of this. she believes they are all lying to her and seeks the main characters help because he is the only one who told her the truth (that he did not want/like to see her painting). he denies and she leaves. shizuko starts to go deaf because of drinking excessive cheap alcohol, and she falls deeper into insanity trying to test her hearing every second of every day, pushing away people with her excessive tests. the main character visits her after receiving a letter from her, and he urges her to go home to her husband. after speaking with her on a piece of paper, he leaves without having achieved anything. eventually she goes back home and is cared for by her husband, but commits suicide soon after. shizuko had gone insane from being flattered and praised and being unable to believe them, despite her actually having talent. she thinks everyone was lying to her and is incapable of seeing her talent because she's so convinced they are lying and her work is actually horrible. this leads her to suicide. its a very tragic story and stuck with me long after finishing.
wish fulfilled is only a few pages long, but it is a great story nonetheless. the unnamed narrator/main character is going through town after drinking lots of alcohol, and he injures his ankle. he goes to the neighborhood doctor and he realizes that he is drunk too, they laugh about this while treating the mc. the two of them have a conversation and become friends. the mc often visits the doctors house every morning to read the papers. one morning, he was reading the paper and sitting with the doctors wife on the porch. the doctor is inside talking to a woman, he tells her to just be a bit more patient. the wife explains to the mc that the woman is there for her husband, who came down with a lung disease three years ago. she has to follow a restriction to help him with his recovery, and has to be very strict with him. this causes her great grief and sadness. she has to stay just a bit more patient, because the treatment will be finished soon. the woman then leaves. on a later day, the mc is sitting on the porch again. he sees the woman, looking very bubbly and happy, twirling around her umbrella. the doctors wife explains that today the restriction has ended. the mc notices the soft and humble beauty of the woman, and reflects on how much suffering she went through those three years. i think this story is really beautiful because it notices the subtle and beautiful things in life, like a womans happiness. it makes me really happy.
the story daffodil follows the unnamed main character and his connection to a woman named shizuko. shizuko had fallen into depression after her family went bankrupt. her husband encourages her to start painting as a way to cope, she begins taking lessons and is heavily praised by everyone. they treat her like a genius and she starts to go insane because of this. she believes they are all lying to her and seeks the main characters help because he is the only one who told her the truth (that he did not want/like to see her painting). he denies and she leaves. shizuko starts to go deaf because of drinking excessive cheap alcohol, and she falls deeper into insanity trying to test her hearing every second of every day, pushing away people with her excessive tests. the main character visits her after receiving a letter from her, and he urges her to go home to her husband. after speaking with her on a piece of paper, he leaves without having achieved anything. eventually she goes back home and is cared for by her husband, but commits suicide soon after. shizuko had gone insane from being flattered and praised and being unable to believe them, despite her actually having talent. she thinks everyone was lying to her and is incapable of seeing her talent because she's so convinced they are lying and her work is actually horrible. this leads her to suicide. its a very tragic story and stuck with me long after finishing.
wish fulfilled is only a few pages long, but it is a great story nonetheless. the unnamed narrator/main character is going through town after drinking lots of alcohol, and he injures his ankle. he goes to the neighborhood doctor and he realizes that he is drunk too, they laugh about this while treating the mc. the two of them have a conversation and become friends. the mc often visits the doctors house every morning to read the papers. one morning, he was reading the paper and sitting with the doctors wife on the porch. the doctor is inside talking to a woman, he tells her to just be a bit more patient. the wife explains to the mc that the woman is there for her husband, who came down with a lung disease three years ago. she has to follow a restriction to help him with his recovery, and has to be very strict with him. this causes her great grief and sadness. she has to stay just a bit more patient, because the treatment will be finished soon. the woman then leaves. on a later day, the mc is sitting on the porch again. he sees the woman, looking very bubbly and happy, twirling around her umbrella. the doctors wife explains that today the restriction has ended. the mc notices the soft and humble beauty of the woman, and reflects on how much suffering she went through those three years. i think this story is really beautiful because it notices the subtle and beautiful things in life, like a womans happiness. it makes me really happy.