Osamu Dazai’s novel Soluppgång is described by HBL as a work shaped by intense pressure and by the turmoil that followed the end of World War II in Japan. The book does more than portray an era; it also seems to carry the strain of the author’s own life.

Dazai attempted to take his own life five times, and that background is reflected in the novel’s mood. HBL notes that the prose has a rough, restless quality and that Chekhov is not far away, underlining the book’s literary weight and lasting relevance.