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"Schoolgirl" is one day in the life of a young teenage girl in post-war Japan. The author's own depression colors the pages, and the girl is anything but happy. She is overwhelmed by trying to figure everything out: who she is, who she wants to be, what society & tradition wants from her, how to be a good daughter, how to grieve her father, and how to deal with a body quickly becoming that of a woman rather than a girl. (Cont. in comments)

I came along this book while reading Days At The Morisaki Bookshop and was intrigued. Dazai writes about the day of a Tokyo schoolgirl in 1937. The writing has something of a stream of consciousness, we're right in her thoughts the whole time. I really felt like being thrown back into my own teen days, sometimes feeling like an adult, then acting like a child again. The writing style is rather literate, but this somehow fits the atmosphere.

You could not pay me enough to be a teenager again.

"Heaven forbid if beauty were to have substance. Genuine beauty is always meaningless, without virtue. It goes without saying. Which is why I love rococo."

"I felt like trying to cry. I held my breath for a good while, in order to make my eyes bloodshot, and I thought I might be able to squeeze out a tear, but it was no good."

Looks like this is next. I love Japanese literature! 🇯🇵