The Setting Sun

A fantastic novel written by Osamu Dazai about Japan at the time after the war and a middle-aged woman who lives through this hard times. A horrific and heavy read, but at the same time a must-read for all fans of books that leave behind a lingering impression.

Wow. Simply wow. I know Dazai writes more gloomy books, but I didn't expect something like this! Definitely not a quick read for inbetween, it's definitely something you really need to sit down and focus on.

In The setting sun Dazai tells the moving tale of a young woman going through an array of hardships in post-WW II Japan, intricately depicting the complicated feelings family can provoke; how family can make living both easier and harder. We get to feel the warmth and love Kazuko feels for her mother and brother, but we also take a deep-dive into the sorrow born of that love and how the warying problems of her family-members affect Kazuko herself. I was sucked into the story within the first pages and probably would have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have to put it down to get my feelings in order several times. Most of Dazai’s novels tend to leave me in a melancholic mood, but The Setting Sun takes it a step further and left me close to tears multiple times.