"I constantly have to say things I don't really feel, otherwise I can't survive." A short novel about art, death, and desires from Osamu Dazai, one of the leading writers of twentieth-century Japanese literature, also famous for his extraordinary life: The Penniless Student. In his thirties, a writer named Dazai goes for a walk along the banks of the Tamagawa River seeking relief after submitting a piece of writing to a magazine that never felt right to him. Watching the river with many thoughts in his mind, Dazai sees a young man being swept away in the river and rushes toward the water to save him. An unexpected conversation begins between them that turns into an intellectual exchange. Hoping to endear himself to this high school dropout, Dazai will find himself that night in a series of strange situations where he agrees to take the stage as a live narrator at a film screening in place of the young man.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.