Osamu Dazai’s narration in The Setting Sun is a masterclass in prose and style, unsettling readers with an unrelenting sense of decline and melancholy. As a critique of traditional morality, Dazai’s writing is both poetic and gritty—beautiful, yet deeply unsettling. 

Once a member of the Japanese aristocracy, Kazuko now lives with her widowed mother in a modest country house. Her brother, Naoji, has been absent for years, his whereabouts unknown since he disappeared during a military campaign. The family’s financial difficulties are stark. Kazuko and her mother lead a quiet, subdued life, reminiscing about the past as they struggle to adapt to their diminished circumstances. As they sink further into poverty, they cannot reconcile themselves to their loss of status, wealth, and significance. 

This book is not for the faint of heart; dealing with subject matter and themes of suicide, addiction, and death, The Setting Sun serves as a commentary on the darkest parts of humanity, with the nihilistic realization of the transience of hope.