this is meaty fare as lively, unpredictable, brainy, and fun to read as any other book I put at the very top.
Trade paperback 5" x 8" (127mm x 203mm). The resulting stories are thought-provoking, slyly subversive, and often hilarious. In Dazai's hands such stock characters as the kindhearted Ojī-san to Obā-san ("Grandmother and Grandfather"), the mischievous tanuki badger, the fearsome Oni ogres, the greedy old man, the "tongue-cut" sparrow, and of course Urashima Tarō (the Japanese Rip van Winkle) become complex individuals facing difficult and nuanced moral dilemmas. The traditional tales upon which Dazai's retellings are based are well known to every Japanese schoolchild, but this is no children's book. Įven as he reads the picture book aloud in a strangely imbecilic voice, another, somewhat more elaborate tale is brewing inside him.ĭazai Osamu wrote The Fairy Tale Book (Otogizōshi) in the last months of the Pacific War. He has an unusual knack for making up stories. 
Though he's shabbily dressed and looks to be a complete fool, this father is a singular man in his own right.
The father reads these old tales to the children. Momotarō, Click-Clack Mountain, The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue, The Stolen Wen, Urashima-san. Otogizōshi: The Fairy Tale Book of Dazai Osamu
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