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lifepath7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Pedophilia, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Confinement
nineinchnails's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the writing is hard for me to gauge considering it’s a translation (of an older novel), and it felt quite choppy at parts. the prose is beautiful, though, despite the subject matter and i tremendously enjoyed reading this.
yozo is really gross but i felt for him, more so initially than later on in the novel. dazai captured the feeling of loneliness that comes with feeling alienated from society really well and it was depressingly relatable. knowing this is so well loved gave me a sense of comfort, like i’m not alone in feeling that way. i would find the misogyny a little less difficult to deal with if this book didn’t come off so much like an autobiography - it feels like he genuinely believed the things he was saying and it left a bad taste in my mouth overall. i wouldn’t recommend reading if you’re in a bad place mentally because there’s a heavy focus on his depression and pessimism.
yozo is really gross but i felt for him, more so initially than later on in the novel. dazai captured the feeling of loneliness that comes with feeling alienated from society really well and it was depressingly relatable. knowing this is so well loved gave me a sense of comfort, like i’m not alone in feeling that way. i would find the misogyny a little less difficult to deal with if this book didn’t come off so much like an autobiography - it feels like he genuinely believed the things he was saying and it left a bad taste in my mouth overall. i wouldn’t recommend reading if you’re in a bad place mentally because there’s a heavy focus on his depression and pessimism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment
Depression, Overdose, Prostitution/sex work and Morphine abuse333amreen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.5
The first half was REALLY interesting! But it lost the spark as it went on, other than a few shocking incidents here & there. Overall, decent read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
lenadesouza's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-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
3.0
a well written red pill statement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
smellerbee93's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
hamna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Suicide
andrea_lachance's review against another edition
challenging
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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definately need to reread this one.
Dazai’s No Longer Human is an inside look into one man’s deeply flawed psyche. Set in 1930’s Japan the book is framed as three notebooks written by the main character, Yozo, that were given to the narrator/author.
The book itself is comprised of a prologue, the three notebooks covering three periods of Yozo’s life, and an epilogue.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that captures just how isolating and depersonalizing mental illness and social isolation can make a person feel. That being said, it’s not a book I’d recommend for someone who’s going through a major depressive episode.
Philosophically, there are a lot if interesting ideas. Yozo has difficulties understanding why people need structure and rhythm in their days and understanding other peoples emotions. Yozo especially has a difficult time reading women, and finds them unknowable.
Reading from Yozo’s point of view makes me feel both empathy and annoyance. Yozo feels he is uniquely, extremely burdened with ‘The Weight of it All’ and doubts that other humans think or feel the same things because if they did, they would not walk around as happy as they are. It’s makes me feel really sad, because I’ve been there, but I also feel like Yozo is conceited (the way that men have to have a drug trip to experience empathy and ego death and think they’re experiencing something novel when every girl has felt that way since 14).
Yoko strikes me as a pessimistic existentialist (“nothing matters” but in the worst way possible) and he just can’t get out of that mindset and it taints everything in the world.
In a way, I think this book speaks to the importance of NOT thinking this way, of NOT isolating yourself. Yoko goes down this really awful and intense spiral because he just can’t get out of his head and can’t connect with people. That’s not entirely his fault, but it’s why he can’t seem to bounce back..
I’d be remiss to say Yoko could pull himself up from depression if he just got out of his head. That’s bullshit. Yoko’s experienced SEVERAL traumas throughout his life that have severely impacted his ability to connect with others, and he was never given any real help.
This could serve as a critique of how Japan at the time dealt with treating the mental health of children at the time (i.e not at all, or extremely stigmatized).This critique of Japan’s mental healthcare system comes up again at the end of the third notebook, when Yoko is institutionalized. Once he is, he says he is “disqualified as a human being. I had now ceased to be a human being” (167). BRO. It was so heavily stigmatized to be institutionalized, that Yoko was ‘othered’ and became ‘no longer human’. That’s insane. And that’s exactly how Japan treated people who needed help.
And worse, after being institutionalized, Yoko lived the rest of his life in isolation, away from family, in a house that was falling apart with a caretaker who abused him.
He always said he was a terrible person, not. A person, but in the end, he was described as “a good boy, an angel” and that his father was the real monster? Things to think about.
Really good book.
Much to think about with this one.
Again, lots of alcohol and substance abuse. And of course, SA because that’s just a running theme in every book I read, apparently.
Random notes I made on Yozo:
-he associates apologizing with women :///
-He only understands anger/negative emotions in other people, not positive emotions
-He’s afraid to use money but also is using up his monthly allowance in 2-3 days and BEGGING his family for money (71)
-sometimes, he really is giving rich asshole who doesn’t know how the world or human empathy works
-Dude is a straight up mysogynist (80)
-Bro really said he’s the same as a poverty-stricken woman :///
-He strikes me as someone with ASPD or SzPD
-He blames Flatfish for his situation??? (102)
-He married a 17 year-old hoping to find happiness.
“Living itself is the source of sin” (164) BARS
-IDK how much of an unreliable narrator he is, we’ll figure that out on round 2
Dazai’s No Longer Human is an inside look into one man’s deeply flawed psyche. Set in 1930’s Japan the book is framed as three notebooks written by the main character, Yozo, that were given to the narrator/author.
The book itself is comprised of a prologue, the three notebooks covering three periods of Yozo’s life, and an epilogue.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that captures just how isolating and depersonalizing mental illness and social isolation can make a person feel. That being said, it’s not a book I’d recommend for someone who’s going through a major depressive episode.
Philosophically, there are a lot if interesting ideas. Yozo has difficulties understanding why people need structure and rhythm in their days and understanding other peoples emotions. Yozo especially has a difficult time reading women, and finds them unknowable.
Reading from Yozo’s point of view makes me feel both empathy and annoyance. Yozo feels he is uniquely, extremely burdened with ‘The Weight of it All’ and doubts that other humans think or feel the same things because if they did, they would not walk around as happy as they are. It’s makes me feel really sad, because I’ve been there, but I also feel like Yozo is conceited (the way that men have to have a drug trip to experience empathy and ego death and think they’re experiencing something novel when every girl has felt that way since 14).
Yoko strikes me as a pessimistic existentialist (“nothing matters” but in the worst way possible) and he just can’t get out of that mindset and it taints everything in the world.
In a way, I think this book speaks to the importance of NOT thinking this way, of NOT isolating yourself. Yoko goes down this really awful and intense spiral because he just can’t get out of his head and can’t connect with people. That’s not entirely his fault, but it’s why he can’t seem to bounce back..
I’d be remiss to say Yoko could pull himself up from depression if he just got out of his head. That’s bullshit. Yoko’s experienced SEVERAL traumas throughout his life that have severely impacted his ability to connect with others, and he was never given any real help.
This could serve as a critique of how Japan at the time dealt with treating the mental health of children at the time (i.e not at all, or extremely stigmatized).
And worse, after being institutionalized, Yoko lived the rest of his life in isolation, away from family, in a house that was falling apart with a caretaker who abused him.
He always said he was a terrible person, not. A person, but in the end, he was described as “a good boy, an angel” and that his father was the real monster? Things to think about.
Really good book.
Much to think about with this one.
Again, lots of alcohol and substance abuse. And of course, SA because that’s just a running theme in every book I read, apparently.
Random notes I made on Yozo:
-he associates apologizing with women :///
-He only understands anger/negative emotions in other people, not positive emotions
-He’s afraid to use money but also is using up his monthly allowance in 2-3 days and BEGGING his family for money (71)
-sometimes, he really is giving rich asshole who doesn’t know how the world or human empathy works
-Dude is a straight up mysogynist (80)
-Bro really said he’s the same as a poverty-stricken woman :///
-He strikes me as someone with ASPD or SzPD
-He blames Flatfish for his situation??? (102)
-He married a 17 year-old hoping to find happiness.
“Living itself is the source of sin” (164) BARS
-IDK how much of an unreliable narrator he is, we’ll figure that out on round 2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
caspyreads's review against another edition
dark
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
4.0
Utterly depressing. I think that's the point though. The author himself was incredibly depressed, which ultimately resulted in him ending his own life. If you're sensitive to these topics and other potentially triggering themes, I don't recommend reading this. It is heavy.
No Longer Human follows the character Ōba Yōzō through parts of his childhood and adulthood. He doesn't seem to understand common human experiences and puts on a mask to seem like he is participating. Yōzō finds mundanity to be joyless and boring. He seeks ways to cope in substances, mostly alcohol, which brings him further into his depression.
I think anyone who has dealt with depression and/or anxiety can relate to Yōzō. He feels like an outsider. Set in pre-WWII Japan, a time in which mental health was not talked about or studied as much, No Longer Human presents a character based on Dazai himself and his struggles who seeks validation in all the wrong things and ultimately doesn't survive his depression.
This book is certainly not for everyone, but I think this is a good depiction of how many people managed, or didn't manage, their mental health in a time when people didn't fully understand what it was and never talked about it.
No Longer Human follows the character Ōba Yōzō through parts of his childhood and adulthood. He doesn't seem to understand common human experiences and puts on a mask to seem like he is participating. Yōzō finds mundanity to be joyless and boring. He seeks ways to cope in substances, mostly alcohol, which brings him further into his depression.
I think anyone who has dealt with depression and/or anxiety can relate to Yōzō. He feels like an outsider. Set in pre-WWII Japan, a time in which mental health was not talked about or studied as much, No Longer Human presents a character based on Dazai himself and his struggles who seeks validation in all the wrong things and ultimately doesn't survive his depression.
This book is certainly not for everyone, but I think this is a good depiction of how many people managed, or didn't manage, their mental health in a time when people didn't fully understand what it was and never talked about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Suicide
jbe125's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault
__offsetpaper__'s review against another edition
4.5
TW: Suicide, Sexual assault
From time to time, we all struggle to find meaning in our existence. Some devote themselves to religion or science, some to music, some to watch football matches from morning to night and try to make sense of the emptiness inside them or make them forget it.
Some people are unlucky, they have an innate extra restlessness or weakness and they cannot suppress it. They spend their lives in an endless melancholy, trying to find meaning and the troubles this creates.
The main character in this novel is exactly such a person. He realizes his incompatibility from a very young age, so he starts to "pretend" at a very early age, which we all do sometimes. How can we face this when everything seems so ordinary and even meaningless? Don't we all try to convince ourselves that everything is fine, that we are even happy, that our lives have meaning? Our main character has a hard time doing this and, as the name of the book suggests, gradually loses his humanity.
“No Longer Human” tells the story of a man who never truly finds a connection with other human beings and thus falls into despair, destroying himself and the people around him along the way. The book is narrated in the first person by Yozo and divided into three parts, classified as notebooks. The main character, who wears a mask in front of society because he is unable to show his true self due to the irrational fear he feels towards human beings. We start from his early childhood until he is twenty years old and throughout the writing we live that constant, hard struggle to fit into society, to adapt to being as others expect.
“As long as I can make them laugh, it won’t matter how, I’ll be all right. If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives.”
Dazai's writing style is simple, sombre and develops a purely intimate plot that breaks down the protagonist's extreme and lonely thoughts in an extremely incredible way. One of the most important elements is the ease with which death is talked about and the ease with which suicide attempts are raised and even the crudeness with which the woman is treated in this writing.
From the very first sentences, the book throws the reader into a deep swamp of trauma, fear, phobia and nihilism. It tells the story of a man who felt deficient all his life to such an extent that he finally even lost his humanity and the ability to live in harmony with the world and society.
It is a manifesto to all people who feel different, who never manage to adapt and who hide in an unhappy life lacking happiness or meaning. No Longer Human is one of those novels that break the soul, that make you reflect and that undoubtedly represent an effort worthy of reward.
Even though the book can be read in one day, it requires a lot of empathy and understanding from the reader for the main character. "Perdition" is the last completed novel by Osamu Dazai, published after his suicide. It's hard for me to evaluate this book based on the plot due to the fact that the hero of the novel is the alter ego of the author himself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, and Rape