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A review by ttyong
Wish Fulfilled: A Vignette by Osamu Dazai by Doc Kane, Reiko Seri
4.25
As Osamu Dazai's Number 1 Fan (officially), I obviously had to read this. I don't know what to say, my boy has range. He can go from depression and despair in No Longer Human to the hopeful optimism present in this 3 page short story.
If you think about Dazai's relationship with alcoholism, a whole other layer becomes apparent. It almost becomes a beautiful story of overcoming addiction or a cycle of negative thinking. The main character comes upon this couple where the husband has such a simple worldview of good vs. bad that he immediately becomes enamored by. And on the one hand, he's encouraging the protagonist to drink saying it's "good" whereas the wife's offer to instead play bridge is "bad". The doctor is sort of this devil on his shoulder who's maybe holding the protagonist back or, at the very least, testing him. He's encouraging the protagonist towards his bad habits and putting restrictions on others. I could literally analyze this man all day.
And then you have the women in this book, in particular the wife, and how angelically they're described. The last line of the wife acting as a "marionnettiste", like she's a guiding hand, helping the protagonist see the beauty in the world is just so uncharacteristically optimistic.
I could easily write more than 3 pages about this 3 page story, but I'll stop here. I love Osamu Dazai. Thank you.
If you think about Dazai's relationship with alcoholism, a whole other layer becomes apparent. It almost becomes a beautiful story of overcoming addiction or a cycle of negative thinking. The main character comes upon this couple where the husband has such a simple worldview of good vs. bad that he immediately becomes enamored by. And on the one hand, he's encouraging the protagonist to drink saying it's "good" whereas the wife's offer to instead play bridge is "bad". The doctor is sort of this devil on his shoulder who's maybe holding the protagonist back or, at the very least, testing him. He's encouraging the protagonist towards his bad habits and putting restrictions on others. I could literally analyze this man all day.
And then you have the women in this book, in particular the wife, and how angelically they're described. The last line of the wife acting as a "marionnettiste", like she's a guiding hand, helping the protagonist see the beauty in the world is just so uncharacteristically optimistic.
I could easily write more than 3 pages about this 3 page story, but I'll stop here. I love Osamu Dazai. Thank you.