The Flowers of Buffoonery

The Flowers of Buffoonery is Osamu Dazai’s hilariously comic yet deeply moving prequel to No Longer Human. In English for the first time, it follows Yozo Oba at a younger age, living in a seaside sanatorium after a failed suicide attempt. While convalescing, visitors come and go—friends, family, other patients and nurses—creating a bustling, often clownish atmosphere. Amid cards, cigarettes and jokes, the characters struggle to keep up appearances as they laugh and clash, revealing the same tones of self-doubt and despair that haunt No Longer Human. The book offers a fresh, darkly humorous glimpse into the lives of outsiders in pre-war Japan, balancing wit with the gravity of youth, love, self-loathing and depression.

The work is presented in an English edition that highlights Dazai’s satirical perspective on human folly and resilience, offering a compact window into a pivotal moment in the author’s oeuvre. It is a 96-page paperback, published by New Directions, and identified as Edition: 1 armband.

Kenmerken

• Prequel aan No Longer Human
• Auteur: Osamu Dazai
• Engelse editie, eerste vertaling
• Zeekust sanatorium als setting
• Verteller: Yozo Oba als jongere versie
• 96 pagina’s, paperback, armband editie