Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - No Longer Human

Amazing book following the life and would be deaths of oba yozo. Written so sporadically yet so structred as to make the book feel so fast paced, yet as if nothing has changed, because yozo hasn't, not really. Very reflective book that you can never be truly ready to read.

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nekko's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Nerekomenduoju šitos knygos skaityti "jauniems" paaugliams, kurie susidomėjo "Bungo Stray Dogs" ir šiuo autoriu. Aš taip dariau ir nelabai ką supratau, nes kūrinys parašytas sudėtinga kalba. Vis tiek duodu pilnas 5 žvaigždutes, nes žinau, kad čia tikrai puiki literatūra. Tikiuosi po kelių metų vėl perskaityti šią knygą su kitokia perspektyva :)

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julitomke's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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belfrybatz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this book was an interesting and depressing character study (though since it's semi-autobiographical that feels odd to say). maybe I need to read it over again, but although it was intriguing to see inside the mind of the protagonist, I didn't find it to have as much substance as I would have liked.

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katanai's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

honestly, at first i was a bit turned off by the misogyny. but, after completion, i found myself torn about his experiences and what led him to live that way. it's tragic, really, & i couldn't help but feel empathy for both the mc & osamu considering it's a partial autobiography.

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royourboat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Such a captivating book. Yozo is an apathetic narrator who mostly speaks in short sentences, which made the book hard to read at first but once I got used to it I was able to appreciate how genius the writing style/decision was.

The writing style was extremely affective at portraying Yozo’s isolation and alienation. And while I recognize that it was a genius decision, because it accurately represents the thought process of a fractured mind, it did make the book less enjoyable at times, which is why I’m not giving it 5 stars. Yes, it succeeded in portraying the protagonist’s disconnection from the world around him, but it also made me feel disconnected from the story.

Nevertheless, the decision to have a very plain, monotonous narrator did make the book more compelling in a way. Yozo always got straight to the point in an almost shocking way which made me eager to know what happens next.

I have very conflicting feelings about our protagonist, I dislike him but I also feel for him at times. The misogyny was revolting, and since this book is semi-autobiographical it really makes you wonder which of these thoughts belong to the protagonist and which belong to the author himself?

I really disliked the epilogue. It was so unnecessary. I wouldn’t say it ~ruined the book for me but I would have definitely enjoyed it more if I hadn’t read the epilogue.

Finally, here are 2 things to keep in mind to make your reading experience more powerful 1) Osamu Dazai committed double suicide alongside his lover right after this book was published and 2) Japan’s views on topics regarding mental illness and how taboo they are to this day, let alone when this book was first published 70 years ago. Osamu Dazai was a brave man.

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gabrielleclarke05's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I cried numerous times in the last 40 pages, not like sobbing cause it’s sad it was just dark and I felt a hole in my chest.
The books writing reminded me of “Call Me by Your Name” writing when it went on tangents and rambled which I didn’t love but it makes sense in this because it is a fractured mind speaking.
It took me a long time to get through this book because it was so grim and depressing but I’m glad I read it.
I’m conflicted on how to rate this because it was a man’s life and his feelings so I don’t want to speak on the subjects. the book is a lot more depressing when you know the author killed himself after publishing it

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