nmcannon's reviews
1301 reviews

While his novels crack New York Times bestseller lists, Dazai Osamu-san was also a short story writer. These stories are harder to find translated into English, but I was happy to read all the library had available, including the Blue Bamboo collection.

In addition to being an excellent translator, Ralph F. McCarthy can write a brilliant introduction. McCarthy explains he was inspired to compile this collection because No Longer Human and The Setting Sun’s fame sometimes outshine Dazai-san’s other writerly talents. The “suicidal mime” and mental illness-spiced tragedy are only parts of Dazai-san’s body of work. As the stories within prove, Dazai-san can write old-fashioned romance and fantastical fairy tales with panache.

I read each story slowly, mostly to avoid my personal failing of hating short story collections, haha. McCarthy adds his and Dazai-san’s commentary to each fiction, which was an eye-opening treat. There’s more than just tragedy here. There is joy, romance, and absurdity. Below is a list of stories and a few thoughts:

“On Love and Beauty” + “Lanterns of Romance” are frame narratives centering the Irie family, who play a story-building game. Each family member adds a short portion to a story, and at the end everyone votes for who added the most intriguing contribution. “Lanterns of Romance” is a notable point of literary history. The family retells the story of Rapunzel–but goes on to describe her troubles adapting to royal life. McCarthy says “Lanterns of Romance” is the first ever “what happens after the HEA” type story in Japan, possibly the world.
“Cherry Leaves and the Whistler” hit me RIGHT in the sibling feels.
“The Chrysanthemum Spirit” aka “Tale of Honest Poverty” is Dazai-san’s retelling of a folktale from Liao Chai Chih I by Pu Sung-ling. This one made me chuckle. It’s like the fairy tale equivalent of “That’s absurd!” “You’re absurd!” “That’s absurd!!!!”
“The Mermaid and the Samurai” is part retelling of Ihara Saikaku’s work, part parody of melodramatic samurai films and plays. They really are like this, huh. Dazai-san inserts an underlying question of what’s the point, and cost of, such delicate honor.
“Blue Bamboo” is another Dazai spin on a folktale from Liao Chai Chih I. The conclusion of the tale–that it is better to be human and work towards a better life–warmed my heart. Interestingly, Dazai-san published this story first in Greater Asian Literature because he wanted Chinese readers to enjoy it.
“Romanesque” is from The Final Years and one of the more famous short stories. An older Dazai-san commented that he thought the story was overly silly, but I think it is the correct amount of silly. I wheezed in laughter. I also think Tarô the Wizard (who accidentally made himself beautiful according to out-of-date beauty standards), Jirôbei the Fighter (who wants to fight somebody, even has catchphrase ready, but people are too intimidated), and Saburô the Liar (a murderous rogue who writes students’ essays for them) would go on a great tabletop campaign.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

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hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alexis Hall is a big hit with our sapphic book club, and the mutual enjoyment led me to exploring his other works. The bookish Internet at large has lauded A Lady for a Duke, so to the library I went to fetch.

After being declared dead at the Battle of Waterloo, Viola returns home to be herself. “Hired” as a lady’s companion by her brother, she has decided to live quietly at her family’s side and retire to a pleasant spinsterhood. Life has other plans for her. When she accidentally reconnects with her childhood friend Justin de Vere, she’s shocked to find him cutting a lonely, sorrowful figure instead of the flush-cheeked, happy youth of her memories. She can’t leave her former friend in such a state, but a promise to heal his grief threatens to unravel the secrets of her own heart.

A Lady for a Duke is so full of feelings, and it gave me feelings. In the past couple years, the Regency period has become a more popular setting, with varying oscillations of historical accuracy and fantastical gloss. Hall’s different books themselves straddle the lines of historical grit and historical fantasy. The Something Something series enjoys more modern language, frolickying tendencies, and ideas of gender, but lacks the outright speculative elements like Mortal Follies’ fae and old gods. A Lady for Duke slides further towards the historical reality end of the scale, with more modern niceties (everyone has nice teeth), but no magic (no fairy godmother waves her wand and changes Viola’s body). A Lady for a Duke is a typical historical romance novel, albeit incredibly well-written and featuring the rare trans woman protagonist.

Hall reserves the unflinching gaze of truth for the characters’ emotional journey. Viola and Justin really get into the weeds of what happened to them both–patriarchy, cisheteronormativity, and war do not leave people unmarked. While Viola’s transness is the summary’s attention grabber, Justin has PTSD and a heavy limp (which don’t magically disappear!). These adults have adult responsibilities too, and Hall has a realistic take on how caring for others can both be a distraction from underlying issues and a powerful motivation for healing. This story is romance with a capital R, so a happy ending is guaranteed, but even I flinched sometimes at how searingingly real Viola and Justin’s discussion got. What do you mean I have to uncover and confront insecurity to achieve long term fulfillment and happiness??? Goddamn it.

This character work is on top of beautiful, snappy prose. I wrote several quotes in my writing journal and mulled over them all for days afterwards. A Lady for a Duke takes them on a healing, revealing journey like no other and stays with them after. At one point I think there was going to be a sequel, and I hope the plans for it are picked back up again when Hall is ready. If you like historical fiction, if you love a love story, I heartily recommend A Lady for a Duke.

Dealing in Death by L.J. Hayward

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I played Maybe: Interactive Stories' adaptation of this novella, which combined it with the sequel novel. You can find my review of Why the Devil Stalks Death here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9f86b55b-cc9c-43a6-a1d2-ac68b1f8d89d

Content Warnings

Devil in the Details by L.J. Hayward

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

When the Devil Drives by L.J. Hayward

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Bargaining with the Devil by L.J. Hayward

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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nmcannon's reviews 1301 reviews

nmcannon's reviews
1301 reviews