Schoolgirl Review

With a short title like Schoolgirl, perhaps it’s obvious at a glance that for once I have put aside the light novels I usually read in favour of a different flavour of literature. The book I’m reviewing today is a novella originally published in 1939 and written by one of the literary greats, Osamu Dazai. Now released in an attractive hardback edition by One Peace Books, let’s take a closer look.

The story is set during the Second World War and follows a day in the life of an unnamed high school student. She’s living through a turbulent period both for Japan as a country and herself, as just a “year or two” ago, her beloved father passed away. Stuck between the all-consuming grief and the emotional instability of puberty, her feelings are all over the place even during the short span we spend with her.

There’s resentment toward her mother who has changed since the death of her husband, and a desire to be coddled like she was as a child when her older sister still lived at home. There’s boredom, insecurity, fear and a feeling that she just doesn’t fit into this world where women are still expected to marry and become good housewives. One moment she hates her mother, another she talks about wishing to be the daughter her mother expects her to be and a desire to make life easier for the both of them, despite the fact they appear to have little in common.

Not everything is related to her family either; our heroine struggles to relate to her friends at school and often laments about the changes her body is going through, or strangers on public transport. Of course, there are happy moments to balance these thoughts out, ones where she’s thinking about the books she so enjoys reading or life when her father was still with them. Or simply enjoying walking home after her afternoon at school and imagining what it would be like to experience these sights as someone completely new to the area.

Many of Dazai’s works are semi-autobiographical; even if they’re fiction, his protagonists share a lot of the same struggles and opinions that the late author held. And that’s true here as well, despite the main character being a high school girl, the fact she’s such a bookworm and holds such insecurities about her place in the world is very reminiscent of Dazai himself.

Describing this novella makes it sound like a difficult read, but in truth, this was enjoyable and surprisingly engrossing. Coming in at 111 pages (including a brief preface and foreword talking about Dazai), this was something I finished in a single sitting. But rather than feeling it was too short, this seemed like the perfect amount of time to spend with the heroine. It leaves the reader with a sense of accomplishment and hopefulness for the future.

Schoolgirl is well known for the writing being playful, something translator Allison Markin Powell has done well to retain for the English release. Our main character certainly reads like a teenage girl, complete with getting distracted and going on a complete** train of thought as she goes about her day. She’s witty, emotional and in some ways still a little childish, while acknowledging she’s soon to become an adult. I think it’s the fact there’s so much to her personality that makes her likeable on the whole, even if you can’t relate or don’t care for all her opinions.

How you feel about this release will come down to how much you care about Dazai and/or the message he’s trying to send. There’s quite a bit of depth here if you know where to look, from references to other novels and media available during the period to the more critical opinions our heroine shares and of course, simply the era it’s set in. There’s very little reference to the war overall, but what is said is meaningful all the same and helps paint a picture of the world she’s living in. I have gone down an entire rabbit hole reading about the books referenced here that’s for sure… However, these things are equally easy to miss and some may still find themselves unsatisfied with the length of this vs the cost (at least in print where it is quite expensive).

As mentioned earlier, Schoolgirl is brought to the West thanks to One Peace Books with translation by Allison Markin Powell. The book was first released as a paperback in 2011, but judging by the prices, that edition appears to be out of print. This new release is a small hardback retailing for £18.99, which is not really in impulse buy territory for most, but all the same, I think this is a nice edition to own and have in your collection. There is a much cheaper (£6.99) eBook version for those who would prefer that too.

Overall, Schoolgirl is the kind of classic work that deserves to remain easily accessible, so it’s great to see One Peace Books making the effort to ensure that happens. Your enjoyment will vary depending on what you want out of it, but I for one found this an excellent novella written by one of the greats.

Our review copy from One Peace Books was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).