Just finished the book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
-First point of confusion. I am confused exactly who the narrator is? He speaks about finding the the three pictures and notebooks. Sounds like from this the narrator takes these findings and publishes a novel. But from what else I’ve read online, Dazai publishes this book soon before his suicide.
-Next point. The main section of the book ends with Yozo/Dazai being 27 years old. He takes his life at 38 years old. Is there anywhere we can find what happens after the book ends? There’s almost 10 more years he lived without writing about.
Just trying to clear things up, I’m sure there are a lot of more questions I have, I just want to make sure I have the best understanding possible. Feels like a lot of unanswered things. Tia!
by Hoopskii
2 Comments
I’m not entirely sure, but I think it is a fictional story with a lot of real elements from Dazai’s own life. I was never completely sure though, and that being said am curious about other’s answers.
> He speaks about finding the the three pictures and notebooks. Sounds like from this the narrator takes these findings and publishes a novel. But from what else I’ve read online, Dazai publishes this book soon before his suicide
I think the point of the narrator is to contrast between the protagonist’s own view of himself and another person’s who didn’t know him. The other person in the prologue also provides a third viewpoint.
As for the rest of your post I think trying to relate this novel too much to the author’s real life/personality is a bit futile. In the end it’s a work of fiction. I think it’s probably just a way for the author to examine his own self-loathing and other traits in the context of an exaggerated character. That being said that’s obviously just my opinion and I’d like to hear what other people have to say.