(Spoilers? on the afterword, so beware if you have not read it yet)
So, I just finished reading 人間失格… and was not expecting the あとがき whatsoever. I had NO idea this was some sort of autobiography on a man that actually existed. Like, I just knew it was a classic of Japanese literature. I struggled both mentally to finish it and emotionally upon realization it wasn’t fiction lol
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I commented more on this in 人間失格 (Advanced Book Club) (during each week’s reading, not in the main thread), but the short version:
it is somewhat based on Dazai’s life, but it isn’t 100% true autobiography.
As Phyllis I. Lyons puts it in The Saga of Dazai Osamu “the events are all transformed negatively”.
So yes, author was miserable (and probably depressed) but it doesn’t mean everything in his life went exactly as in 人間失格.
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Oh, I did not know that. Well, that is some silver lining, I guess. Thanks!
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