Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

126 reviews

ramona_m's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Toxic friendship

thewalkingnerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

charrlee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I have never seen such an inscrutable face on a man (17)

The darkest novel I have yet to read, and I don't say that lightly. So much of how you read this novel is dependent on your own beliefs and biases. While the three notebooks pose a slight a question of subjectivity, the way Yozo is viewed in the prologue and epilogue are what truly form the thoughts of the reader. I can, and will, write an analysis on my thoughts around No Longer Human at some point. There is so much more that just cannot be said in a review. 

The last line haunts you; this book will haunt your mind. I don't feel as though I can rate this properly because there is something so human despite the inhumanities described. Also, knowing this work is semi-autobiographical enables you to approach the topic with more humanity as opposed to an entirely fictional rendition. 

Yozo is textually represented as a bad person, yet at the same time, he manages to be more than his evils to the people around him, whether that is realized or not. Everyone is important to somebody. At the heart of this novel lies the question of redemption and rebirth. No Longer Human, despite its name, invites the question of where humanity lies; is it inside or outside of us? We must extend the hand of sympathy to others, but to what degrees is society willing to extend sympathy? Yozo fills us with the uncomfortable and we must carry that haunting every day. Who is the real clown? 

P.S. The more direct translation, disqualified as a human being, packs a better punch. 

He was a good boy, an angel (177)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Rape, Medical content, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

william26's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Rape

softbooknerd's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

Minor: Child abuse

odeadsaku's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Rape, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

shannonheal's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Sexual violence, Self harm, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Rape

en0mad's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

est_her's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I am relieved to find i'm no longer mentally ill enough to find comfort in this novel/enjoy it as much as the first time i read it. Yozo starts out as a child having difficulties understanding the people around him and incapable of building genuine connections with other humans. There, his struggles are almost relatable to the reader. As he grows up, Yozo makes so many mistakes, allows so many terrible people to influence him negatively that the main character even completely alienates the reader from himself. Every time it seems he may have a chance to turn his life around, he repeats the same mistakes, each time in a more horrifying manner than before. By the end of the novel, it is so sickening that it qualifies as a horror story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Rape, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Child abuse

blububbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: War, Rape, and Blood