Schoolgirl

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

A new selection of six short stories by one of Japan's most iconic twentieth-century writers

An adolescent girl narrates her day in an existential masterpiece that explores what it means to be a forming person in a fomenting society. A woman writes a farewell note to her husband, an artist who has driven her away with his counterfeit profundity and naked ambition. A plain young woman steals a bathing suit for a handsome friend, only to find herself ostracised by her neighbours for her boy-crazed behaviour - and her refusal to be shamed.

These six stories by Osamu Dazai are among his finest. Written during the Second World War, in the shadow of intense nationalism, they unpick the concept of the patriotic, productive or moral self. Including the novella 'Schoolgirl', which rocketed Dazai to fame on initial publication in 1939, this collection, newly translated by Polly Barton, is a perfect introduction to Dazai's work.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241767054
Published: July 2026

Number of pages: 160
Width: 114 mm
Height: 180 mm
Depth: 15 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd