| NOTA |
()(Translated by Donald Keene)(Titulo original : Îz [Shayoo]^@This powerful novel of a nation in social and moral crisis in the early postwar years probes the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society. The influence of this book, often considered DazaiLs masterpiece, made the term Lpeople of the setting sunL --the declining aristocracy-- a permanent part of the Japanese language.^@DazaiLs heroine, Kazuko, the strong-willed young aristocrat who deliberately abandons her class, stands as a symbol of the anomie that pervades so much of the modern world. The distinguished translator Donald Keene has said of the authorLs work : LHis world ... suggests Chekhov or possibly postwar France ... but there is a Japanese sensibility in the choice and presentation of the material. A Dazai novel is at once immediately intelligible in Western terms and quite unlike any Western book.L^@Osamu Dazai [1909-1948] was the pen name of Shuji Tsushima [ÃC¡], the tenth of eleven children born to a wealthy landowner and politician. Dazai studied French literature at the University of Tokyo, eventually leaving without a degree. He first attracted attention in 1933 when magazines began to publish his work. Between 1930 and 1937 he made three suicide attempts, a subject he dealt with in many of his short stories. Despite his troubled life and rebellious spirit, Dazai wrote in a simple and colloquial style, conveying his own experiences in his best work. DazaiLs life ended early in a double suicide with a married lover.^@Donald Keene is University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus at Columbia University. Among his many other translations are DazaiLs LNo Longer HumanL and books by Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Dr. Keene received the Order of the Rising Sun 3rd Class (1975) and 2nd Class (1993) for his services to Japanese literature.) |
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