The idea of framing these stories as embellished retelling as diversion for the author’s children as they hide in an air raid shelter during a bombing was enough to get me interested in this book. To cast fairy tales against the backdrop of modern warfare is fruitful territory, Dazai probably wasn’t the first to do it and certainly won’t be the last. Where this this book is really special is the way that it plays with the narrative - by specifying from the outset that these are off the cuff, improvised renditions of (apparently) famous fairy tales give the author all kinds of room to fit in his own flights of fancy, alterations, and commentary. If the author is a good writer, it’s nice to read these kind of free flowing books, where the lack of itinerary is the point of the journey and you can sort of just hang out for a bit and see where it all goes.

Having just finished Dazai’s No Longer Human, it’s nice to see a more whimsical side of his work. Sometimes the most morose and depressive people have the best sense of humor, when they are up to it. ( )