(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance.”
This is exactly the case with twenty-five-year-old Yozo Oba, who is sent to a seaside sanitarium to recover from injuries due to failed suicide attempt. Unfortunately, his girlfriend succeeded.
Yozo’s older brother and a couple of friends visit him, and for four days his room is filled with jokes, antics and gossip. Even a staff nurse can’t refuse and finds herself continually dropping in on the young men. Through all of this we learn about their troubled lives and the inner turmoil that continues to engulf them. The Flowers of Buffoonery (appropriately titled) is filled with dark humor, where the reader may feel guilty for joining in on the fun. However, you can’t help but feel empathy towards the characters.
Though this is supposed to have taken place in 1929 Japan, the characters and events are hauntingly relatable. The author sneaks into the narrator’s voice, admitting his faults. If you read the bio of author Os Amu Dazai’s (1909 – 1948), you can see the eerie connections.
The Flowers of Buffoonery is only eighty pages but carries a lot of weight. Highly recommended.
