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kilianisreading's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Vomit
dianxia_'s review against another edition
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
4.5
No Longer Human is a book about a boy, and later a man, named Yozo. Due to his differences with others Yozo struggles throughout the book with the feeling of not being human. The beginning of the book talks about his life as a child, learning that he is different from others, and figuring out how to please them. The latter part of the book is about his life as an adult, and his struggles with relationships and multiple suicide attempts.
I enjoyed the novel. Yozo clicked with me as a character, as I feel he is very Autism coded. Throughout the book, he talks about various different experiences, such as; Not feeling hunger, struggling to empathize, fidgeting, fear of people, lack of happiness, and putting on an act to please others due to fear of rejection. All of which are fairly common experiences for those with Autism. Yozo also went through trauma in his childhood which would strengthen some of these experiences.
Throughout the book, it is very clear that Yozo is lacking in the caring for others department. This is conveyed not just in what is written but also in how everything is written. Most of the time when other people are talked about in the book they’re spoken about in a very emotionless way, if not in a judgmental way. The only time in the book that emotion is really shown is when he feels fear towards others or disgust towards himself. This supports his claims that he cannot feel happiness, which could potentially be a result of Alexithymia.
His misogyny was a bit annoying to have to read about all the time. But considering the time it was written in and his childhood trauma it is not surprising. Even if I disagree with his viewpoints I find it interesting to hear from a different point of view. I normally read fantasy so it’s kind of a new experience for me.
Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. It was not what I expected, from what I’ve heard about it I expected it to be about 1000x more depressing. However, I’m fine with the fact that it didn’t make me feel emotional, that wasn’t what I wanted to read it for. I was interested in seeing his point of view, which I had heard was quite antisocial, and I’ve achieved that. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read or anything like that, but I do think it was worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault
pbeeandj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
moongelli's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
344 days to finish 177 pages—but to be fair, i restarted like 3 times because the prose was well above my capabilities initially. i also forgot a lot of the novel's details because it's been a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism
dissociation is very heavy handed here too, especially since the MC feels alienated.diaday333's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Poor Yoshiko is all I have to say. I don’t really find this book dark, but I can see what it would be said. Some parts were good at appealing to my emotions, but overall, the book is quite forgettable to me. The misogyny is wild tho, if it wasn’t for that, I might give this book a higher rating. Also it’s hard to feel bad for Yozo, mostly, I think it’s his characterization. When you see how he acts and what he thinks when he’s not talking about how miserable he is, it’s a yikes. It’s possible to right unlovable characters well and while I think he’s written well, he’s not interesting, at least in the way he should be. He doesn’t have to redeeming qualities to be interesting, but his whole character is unsavory in a way that isn’t interesting to read. The only people I feel bad for are particularly the women he meets. But I will say some parts are written very well where I can feel his despair, it’s just not enough. I guess the most emotional part for me is when he tried to drown himself and no one cared and he even got disowned and tried for a crime. That was actually sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Suicide
biscuitisnice's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Suicide, Misogyny, Addiction, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
lblackburn04's review
dark
reflective
slow-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
it’s a beautifully written book, and thematically quite moving; however the main character is unbelievably off-putting and you stop sympathising with him maybe halfway through which makes getting to the end of the book quite difficult
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse
winxclbs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
the book successfully achieved its purpose in portraying a troubled character. he IS a very strong anti-hero because at many points i found myself disgusted by him while also relating to him.. there was no point to it though! it was so shallow because nothing profoundly meaningful or valuable came out of the “i dont feel like human so i will dehumanise others” schtick.
i also thought it was too indulgent in his misogyny.
i also thought it was too indulgent in his misogyny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
sunfishya's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
It's not for everyone, that's for sure. It's a book that is highly layered and would definitely reveal more with multiple readings. There is content, such as the misogyny and constant detachment from trauma, that surrounds Yozo, but although it is a hard read because of those reasons, I find Dazai's exploration of the ideas of meaning, existence, and connection are very worth the read. There is a bit of sexual abuse that happens to Yozo both as a child and as an adult that seems to be glossed over afyer its mentioned, so if you are sensitive to such topics or treatment of such topics, be warned. I wanted to warn in the content warnings but couldn' find out how. If you check the content warnings for this novel and want to proceed, it's a slow, meandering read but I find Dazai's exploration in the novel to be nuanced and highly open to connection from an audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Suicide, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
literatureboysmelancholy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Suicide, Alcohol, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Addiction
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Death of parent and War