REVIEW: The Girl Who Became a Fish (short story) by Osamu Dazai, art by Nekosuke, translated by David Boyd

The Girl Who Became a Fish is, maybe, magical realism. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This is the story of Suwa, the young daughter of a charcoal maker. During the summer months, when visitors come to the area to see the local waterfall, Suwa's father has her run a small tea stand. Although she obediently does as she's told, her voice is drowned out by the sound of the falls and she rarely sells anything. One day, while staffing the tea stand, she witnesses a student accidentally fall and drown.

This gets tied in with a story Suwa's father once told her, about two brothers, one of whom was transformed into a serpent, as well as Suwa's eventual fate.

I have no idea what this story means, although it seems possible, to me, that Suwa supposedly becoming a fish was actually a very pretty and fantastical way of saying that she drowned just like the student who fell and drowned. Maybe I'm being too bleak, but hey, it's Dazai.

The full-color illustrations accompanying the text are lovely. They don't exactly match the text, although I suppose they fit the overall feeling. 

I plan to try more works in the "Maiden's Bookshelf" series, mostly because I'd like to see more of the artwork. I just wish the books themselves were a bit larger, to properly show off the artwork.