Reviews with content warning for Death - No Longer Human

Reviews tagging 'Death'

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

235 reviews

dreyar's review against another edition

1.25

sad

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

tayamay's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Read this because of the anime three years ago, and I’m not mad.

Content Warnings

kymberly's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"What is society but an individual?"

Content Warnings

zakcebulski's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The way that I was turned on to this book is probably one of my favorite stories of discovering an author and a work.
I was reading through Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood earlier this year and came through a portion of the book where the main character- Toru- is asked by another person whether or not he has read anything by Osamu Dozai. Now, this is just a line in the book, but, I personally believe that when an author references a book or author there is a reason for it. So, when I came across the mention of Dozai, I jotted it down. Upon finishing Norwegian Wood I did a bit of research on Osamu Dozai and I found out that No Longer Human is not only Dozai's most popular book, but, as well, the second most popular book in Japan- that is fucking amazing. Needless to say, I was interested- I immediately went to my go to book buying site- thriftbooks.com (pls sponsor me I have spent so much money on your site!) and... there were no copies in stock. So, I went to a few used book stores in my area and they did not have any copies. There were copies available on Amazon, but, I will be goddamned before I buy a book from Amazon.
So, I opted to just search for this book, and instead I went and read Dozai's and the book's Wikipedia pages and that is where I saw it- this book entered in to public domain in 2019. So, I did what any normal person would do and I printed off a copy to read.

To say that this book is amazing is an understatement in every sense of the word. I think that Osamu Dozai is, to me, one of the tragic figures of not only Japanese literature, but literature as a whole. This book is semi-autobiographical, and it details the gradual downward spiral that the author and by virtue of a stand in- Yozo- endured in his life.
Yozo, as the author's stand-in, is a person who deals with much trauma throughout his life. The story is more of a medium through which we are able to experience his downward spiral, which is illustrated amazingly by Dozai's expert prose. I think that the way in which Dozai explains his feelings of an absence of self esteem and how he wears a fake happy mask so as to not upset others and to be liked is something completely relatable. I am sure that many folks who read this book will have done something similar in the pursuit of being liked.

The story, for what it is, takes place from Yozo's early childhood until his mid to late twenties. He tells his experiences going through his love life, through his work life and schooling and how he doesn't feel a true passion for anything. When he does, it is shut down with a vigor that can only reflect that his interests are stupid and a waste of time. This is absolutely heartbreaking, as there are few instances when Yozo talks about things that interest him and time and again they are curtailed. Over the course of the passage of time he is scarred and marred by many instances of traumatic events. This time passage is separated in to three periods, each taking a chunk of time and explaining how these negative events compound and build up and up over time. Throughout his life Yozo explains his feelings regarding society and his alienation and isolation from it, as well as his depression and anxiety. As well, he regales his attempted suicide which occurs in Dozai's life, as well.
I thought that the descriptions of addiction specifically to alcohol, morphine and illicit sex were absolutely brutal as they were not done in any flashy way. Rather, the author writes them as if they were/ are the most natural things to indulge in order to feel anything in life. This is obviously a very heavy book, and I think that Dozai evidently writes from a place of real-world pain and experience and these emotions come through beautifully tragically throughout this book.

Throughout 2023 I have been delving more into Asian literature, specifically Japanese literature at current. Books like this are constant reminders of why people should not be restricted to reading works by authors of their native language. Once someone overcomes the lip of diving into a whole new part of the world's literature, it is a vast ocean of infinite discovery, and goddamn, it is amazing. Please do not be restricted by the geographical barrier. Many works have been translated (expertly so, by Donald Keene), and I implore you who are reading this review to delve into books from other parts of the world. I fully believe that this will strengthen your world view and will help you to be more empathetic and to understand people outside of your own bubble. I know that there is so much to read out there, and while I cannot read everything, I will not be stymied by the ignorance of breadth of selection taught in the US education system.

I am truly grateful for the work in translation of Donale Keene and for Osamu Dozai for letting us in to his world. I hope that whatever, if anything, comes beyond the veil offers more peace than he got in life.

Content Warnings

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

3.0

dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a very unique novel. I think reading this as a look into Dazai’s life, and as someone who’s suffering from mental illness in a world that doesn’t understand it. The main character is a deeply disturbed individual, but I believe this is due to his trauma than his actual personality.

I think it’s a sad novel, and I find it sad that Osamu Dazai never found peace.

Content Warnings