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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Written in 1948, this is a semi autobiographical story about a depressed, dysfunctional man named Oba Yozo in post WWII Japan who has become completely disconnected from people and society.Yozo’s downward spiral and disconnection deals with difficult themes and echoes the disconnection in modern society. Not an easy read but worthwhile. This book has had a resurgence due to adaptations in film, anime and manga. If you’re into anime like Bungo Stray Dogs, or horror manga like Junji Ito’s work, you might like reading this book for backstory.
Personal note: Osamu Dazai’s book, No Longer Human was a difficult read for me and it took a long time to digest (in fact I'm not sure I understand it all yet). It was difficult due to the content: there are both oblique and direct references to child abuse, misogyny, drug abuse, alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide. It seems to be a perverse story of personal nihilism and psychological emasculation. No Longer Human is a very dark book
Personal note: Osamu Dazai’s book, No Longer Human was a difficult read for me and it took a long time to digest (in fact I'm not sure I understand it all yet). It was difficult due to the content: there are both oblique and direct references to child abuse, misogyny, drug abuse, alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide. It seems to be a perverse story of personal nihilism and psychological emasculation. No Longer Human is a very dark book
Weird and bleak, with a strange layer of irony that I'm not sure how strongly to believe in (especially while reading in translation). The narrator seems to veer from the pathetic to the comic with equally disastrous results, and we get treated to his car-crash-like dissolution, despite a ream of secondary characters queuing up to offer help, notably the various women who come into his life and take care of him.
It's hard to place this novel, like a lot of postwar Japanese stuff, but it has a gripping interiority which sucks the reader in and makes the world of the story somehow magnificent in its squalour. Not for everyone, and plenty of potentially triggering stuff around emotionally neglectful power dynamics. Wonderful prose, though.
It's hard to place this novel, like a lot of postwar Japanese stuff, but it has a gripping interiority which sucks the reader in and makes the world of the story somehow magnificent in its squalour. Not for everyone, and plenty of potentially triggering stuff around emotionally neglectful power dynamics. Wonderful prose, though.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
è un bel libro, ma credo non mi abbia fatto particolarmente impazzire per la distanza che c'era tra i comportamenti e la consapevolezza di essere,
sicuramente deriva dal fatto che la storia sia stata raccontata esternamente e non dal protagonista stesso.
Comunque bei temi, anche il fatto stesso d'avere poca consapevolezza di sé ti fa entrare in yna mentalità non tua, capendo xge non tutti ragionano con la profondità che spesso attribuiamo alla vita, che alcuni non sanno nemmeno che persona sono.
Il fatto di volersi cambiare per paura, il che può essere attribuito a molti altri aspetti, è un fenomeno quasi naturale che, così amplificato, ci fa' capire quanto effettivamente disfunzionale sia
sicuramente deriva dal fatto che la storia sia stata raccontata esternamente e non dal protagonista stesso.
Comunque bei temi, anche il fatto stesso d'avere poca consapevolezza di sé ti fa entrare in yna mentalità non tua, capendo xge non tutti ragionano con la profondità che spesso attribuiamo alla vita, che alcuni non sanno nemmeno che persona sono.
Il fatto di volersi cambiare per paura, il che può essere attribuito a molti altri aspetti, è un fenomeno quasi naturale che, così amplificato, ci fa' capire quanto effettivamente disfunzionale sia
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
i literally have no choice but to give this five stars.
it’s so terrifying to experience a disconnection not only from the world around you but from your own self too. the main character, yozo, describes his life as one so far disconnected from his society that he believes there is no way he himself could possibly be human. ironically, most of the experiences he laments over seem to be relatively universal. (and if they’re not i definitely need to bring this up with my therapist lmfao.) i mean, is there anything more human than actively trying to seem normal?
many of the ideas presented in this book are commonly recognized now, but it was first published in japan in the 40s. it’s crazy to see firsthand how prevalent mental illness and addiction were in a society that refused to acknowledge, much less address, such issues. and the original author of the journals does so in such a beautiful narration. i was so moved while reading this like i probably felt every emotion possible.
i tabbed this book probably ten thousand times but here are some quotes that really stuck out to me for whatever reason.
“I have sometimes thought that I have been burdened with a pack of ten misfortunes, any one of which if borne by my neighbor would be enough to make a murderer of him…. if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?”
“I fail to see, however, that a distrust for human beings should necessarily lead directly to religion. Is it not true, rather, that human beings, including those who may now be deriding me, are living in mutual distrust, giving not a thought to God or anything else?”
“What uneasiness lies in being loved.”
“There are some people whose dread of human beings is so morbid that they reach a point where they yearn to see with their own eyes monsters of ever more horrible shapes. And the more nervous they are—the quicker to take fright—the more violent they pray that every storm will be ...”
“The agonies I have suffered night after night have made for a hell composed of an infinite diversity of tortures, but—though this is a very strange way to put it—the wound has gradually become dearer to me than my own flesh and blood, and I have thought its pain to be the emotion of the wound as it lived or even its murmur of affection.”
“I was frightened even by God. I could not believe in His love, only in His punishment. Faith. That, I felt, was the act of facing the tribunal of justice with one's head bowed to receive the scourge of God. I could believe in hell, but it was impossible for me to believe in the existence of heaven.”
“Is it not true that no two human beings understand anything whatsoever about each other, that those who consider themselves bosom friends may be utterly mistaken about their fellow and, failing to realize this sad truth throughout a lifetime, weep when they read in the newspapers about his death?”
it’s so terrifying to experience a disconnection not only from the world around you but from your own self too. the main character, yozo, describes his life as one so far disconnected from his society that he believes there is no way he himself could possibly be human. ironically, most of the experiences he laments over seem to be relatively universal. (and if they’re not i definitely need to bring this up with my therapist lmfao.) i mean, is there anything more human than actively trying to seem normal?
many of the ideas presented in this book are commonly recognized now, but it was first published in japan in the 40s. it’s crazy to see firsthand how prevalent mental illness and addiction were in a society that refused to acknowledge, much less address, such issues. and the original author of the journals does so in such a beautiful narration. i was so moved while reading this like i probably felt every emotion possible.
i tabbed this book probably ten thousand times but here are some quotes that really stuck out to me for whatever reason.
“I have sometimes thought that I have been burdened with a pack of ten misfortunes, any one of which if borne by my neighbor would be enough to make a murderer of him…. if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?”
“I fail to see, however, that a distrust for human beings should necessarily lead directly to religion. Is it not true, rather, that human beings, including those who may now be deriding me, are living in mutual distrust, giving not a thought to God or anything else?”
“What uneasiness lies in being loved.”
“There are some people whose dread of human beings is so morbid that they reach a point where they yearn to see with their own eyes monsters of ever more horrible shapes. And the more nervous they are—the quicker to take fright—the more violent they pray that every storm will be ...”
“The agonies I have suffered night after night have made for a hell composed of an infinite diversity of tortures, but—though this is a very strange way to put it—the wound has gradually become dearer to me than my own flesh and blood, and I have thought its pain to be the emotion of the wound as it lived or even its murmur of affection.”
“I was frightened even by God. I could not believe in His love, only in His punishment. Faith. That, I felt, was the act of facing the tribunal of justice with one's head bowed to receive the scourge of God. I could believe in hell, but it was impossible for me to believe in the existence of heaven.”
“Is it not true that no two human beings understand anything whatsoever about each other, that those who consider themselves bosom friends may be utterly mistaken about their fellow and, failing to realize this sad truth throughout a lifetime, weep when they read in the newspapers about his death?”
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Um livro que te agarra na alma
Este é um daqueles livros que não apenas conta uma história, como também finca uma agulha em suas veias e faz você questionar cada faceta de sua identidade.
Encontramos um tom confessional, completamente cru, às vezes desconfortável e dolorosamente humano. Nos atinge como um soco no estômago, onde temos um desejo desesperadamente pertencer, mas paralisado pelo isolamento e pela vergonha.
A prosa é enganosamente simples, quase clínica às vezes, mas carrega um lirismo sublime quando você menos espera. Embora publicado em 1948, a exploração sobre alienação, crise de identidade e saúde mental parece surpreendentemente moderna. Antecipa as conversas atuais sobre depressão, vício e o custo das expectativas sociais.
Este é um dos raros livros que vive dentro de você, remodelando a maneira como você vê a si mesmo e o mundo. Não é uma leitura confortável, é abrasadora, mas é uma obra-prima de percepção psicológica e arte literária. Eu o adoro porque ele recusa respostas fáceis, em vez disso, nos convida a sentar com nossas próprias sombras.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
“Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness.
A Soul Laid Bare, Too Human to Survive
This is not just a novel, it's Osamu Dazai’s open wound, bleeding onto every page. Disguised as fiction, this book is the quiet, slow suicide of a man who was never allowed to feel whole. You don’t read this story, you witness it. You stand helpless as Yozo Oba unravels, knowing all too well that it’s Dazai himself dissolving between the lines.
Yozo’s life is a funeral in slow motion. His smiles are masks, his laughter is hollow, and his inability to connect is not a quirk, it’s a scream. You feel his deep shame, his detachment from humanity, and you see how each moment of isolation adds another weight to the chains dragging him under. And behind all of it, like a shadow he can’t shake, is his father, a figure of power, control, and suffocating expectation.
“Whenever I was asked what I wanted my first impulse was to answer "Nothing." The thought went through my mind that it didn't make any difference, that nothing was going to make me happy.”
In the book, Yozo’s father is cold and distant, and that’s no accident. Dazai, born into a powerful political family, grew up under the rigid gaze of a father who expected obedience and perfection. But Dazai was fragile, sensitive, and full of contradictions. He never fit the mold. That failure haunted him. That unspoken rejection is stitched into the marrow of this book.
The most devastating part? Dazai knew exactly what he was writing. This wasn’t art, it was a confession. A farewell note disguised as literature. Just a year after No Longer Human was published, he filled his coat with stones and threw himself into the Tamagawa Canal. Like Yozo, he never really escaped the feeling of being a stranger in his own skin.
“The weak fear happiness itself. They can harm themselves on cotton wool. Sometimes they are wounded even by happiness”
This book didn’t just make me cry—it left me grieving someone I never met. I wanted to reach through time and pages to tell Dazai he wasn’t alone. But he died believing he was.
No Longer Human is not for everyone. But if you’ve ever felt like an echo in a room full of voices, if you've ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the person staring back… this book will find you. And it will hurt.
But maybe, in its pain, you’ll understand someone who needed so desperately to be understoodand never was.
“For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people's faces.”
Dazai knew what he was gonna do with his life and these pages prove them. Since the start he knows he was gonna kill himself and he does. It remined of a A Little Life scene where there is a saying that goes something like A person who is gonna kill himself will kill himself no matter what. It is inevitable.
“For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people's faces.”
The fact that he wrote his life story in this book which is exact like this story even make it worse. He thought he was helpless and bad so why not get worse because getting better was not a option. Fighting with issues from his mental health , family, love life and society unfitness he killed himself. Such a sad and depressing book !!! yet so beautiful.
A confession and Goodbye letter for the world from his perspective because they never understood him
Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being
A Soul Laid Bare, Too Human to Survive
This is not just a novel, it's Osamu Dazai’s open wound, bleeding onto every page. Disguised as fiction, this book is the quiet, slow suicide of a man who was never allowed to feel whole. You don’t read this story, you witness it. You stand helpless as Yozo Oba unravels, knowing all too well that it’s Dazai himself dissolving between the lines.
Yozo’s life is a funeral in slow motion. His smiles are masks, his laughter is hollow, and his inability to connect is not a quirk, it’s a scream. You feel his deep shame, his detachment from humanity, and you see how each moment of isolation adds another weight to the chains dragging him under. And behind all of it, like a shadow he can’t shake, is his father, a figure of power, control, and suffocating expectation.
“Whenever I was asked what I wanted my first impulse was to answer "Nothing." The thought went through my mind that it didn't make any difference, that nothing was going to make me happy.”
In the book, Yozo’s father is cold and distant, and that’s no accident. Dazai, born into a powerful political family, grew up under the rigid gaze of a father who expected obedience and perfection. But Dazai was fragile, sensitive, and full of contradictions. He never fit the mold. That failure haunted him. That unspoken rejection is stitched into the marrow of this book.
The most devastating part? Dazai knew exactly what he was writing. This wasn’t art, it was a confession. A farewell note disguised as literature. Just a year after No Longer Human was published, he filled his coat with stones and threw himself into the Tamagawa Canal. Like Yozo, he never really escaped the feeling of being a stranger in his own skin.
“The weak fear happiness itself. They can harm themselves on cotton wool. Sometimes they are wounded even by happiness”
This book didn’t just make me cry—it left me grieving someone I never met. I wanted to reach through time and pages to tell Dazai he wasn’t alone. But he died believing he was.
No Longer Human is not for everyone. But if you’ve ever felt like an echo in a room full of voices, if you've ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the person staring back… this book will find you. And it will hurt.
But maybe, in its pain, you’ll understand someone who needed so desperately to be understoodand never was.
“For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people's faces.”
Dazai knew what he was gonna do with his life and these pages prove them. Since the start he knows he was gonna kill himself and he does. It remined of a A Little Life scene where there is a saying that goes something like A person who is gonna kill himself will kill himself no matter what. It is inevitable.
“For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people's faces.”
The fact that he wrote his life story in this book which is exact like this story even make it worse. He thought he was helpless and bad so why not get worse because getting better was not a option. Fighting with issues from his mental health , family, love life and society unfitness he killed himself. Such a sad and depressing book !!! yet so beautiful.
A confession and Goodbye letter for the world from his perspective because they never understood him
Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being