This book is a completely new translation of Dazai's classic novel, considered by many to be his masterpiece. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the story opens as Kazuko and her mother flee the devastated capital to their country home. Once wealthy, they have now lost everything and Kazuko has to work in the fields while looking after her sick mother. She is also dealing with the stigma of a recent divorce and the trauma of giving birth to a stillborn child.

Things take a turn for the better when Kazuko's brother Naoji returns from the battlefields in the Pacific, but it soon transpires that he is addicted to opium. Kazuko finds solace in a love affair with a novelist, although he turns out to be an alcoholic and incapable of sustaining a relationship. When Kazuko falls pregnant, she vows to raise the child alone, and moves confidently forward, finally liberated from outdated notions of morality.

The works of Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) have seen a huge surge in popularity thanks to the success of the manga and film series Bungo Stray Dogs, whose protagonist is a detective named Osamu Dazai, closely based on the real-life author. Fans of the series have turned to the writings of the real Dazai, whose themes of alienation and the split between inner and outer appearances resonate strongly with young readers today and have inspired generations of modern Japanese authors.

'Dazai's best novel [...] the story focuses on a woman forced to deal with the consequences of heedless, Dazai-like behavior' The New York Times