The enduring appeal of a midcentury Japanese novelist who wrote of alienation and suicide. By Andrew Martin The first thing you hear is an eerie synth tone, followed by a portentous, insinuating voice ...

The Japanese novelist’s dark-hearted comedies are at once unhinged and brilliant. Osamu Dazai, 1924. Where to begin the story? It’s tempting to start at the end—on the morning of Osamu Dazai’s 39th ...