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A review by _lunaria_
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
dark
slow-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
5.0
This is one of my new favorite books!
I was curious to read it as I watched an anime adaptation years ago, while I was still in my late-teens. So when this book was shown to me in the recommended section, I was naturally interested in comparing the adaptation to the original (although I have to admit, I really don't remember much of the adaptation as it was so long ago).
This is a really meaningful book that in my opinion has been executed really well. Yozo, the main character, for example was very well written - it came across how despicable he is as a person, but it wasn’t distracting to the story: he's a very flawed character with no redeemable qualities to him. In most other books a character like him would be annoying to find, but here it's different seeing that the book revolves around his many flaws and how he interacts with the world; despite its name I found it to be very human.
I ended up reading this within two hours, every now and again having small breaks so that I could process what I had just read and to form an opinion.
The impression I was left with is that this is a story of someone who lacked to receive empathy from other people early enough in his life, and thus ended up wallowing both in his own, and in the misfortunes he creates for others; Yozo is someone who wasn't able to build any resilience, self sufficiency, and motivation to follow what he truly wanted. He is someone who decided to give up, and what he wrote in his notebooks is a perfect example of why this type of mindset is so dangerous to succomb to --- these aspects are also part of why it could be difficult for some to read this book; it not only talks about difficult topics and a difficult life, but because one is being directly confronted with these things it also leads to a lot of thinking and a lot of self-reflection. I feel that whoever means to read this book should be aware of that and decide beforehand whether they're in the right state of mind to enjoy it.
But that aside, I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes to think about heavy subjects.
I was curious to read it as I watched an anime adaptation years ago, while I was still in my late-teens. So when this book was shown to me in the recommended section, I was naturally interested in comparing the adaptation to the original (although I have to admit, I really don't remember much of the adaptation as it was so long ago).
This is a really meaningful book that in my opinion has been executed really well. Yozo, the main character, for example was very well written - it came across how despicable he is as a person, but it wasn’t distracting to the story: he's a very flawed character with no redeemable qualities to him. In most other books a character like him would be annoying to find, but here it's different seeing that the book revolves around his many flaws and how he interacts with the world; despite its name I found it to be very human.
I ended up reading this within two hours, every now and again having small breaks so that I could process what I had just read and to form an opinion.
The impression I was left with is that this is a story of someone who lacked to receive empathy from other people early enough in his life, and thus ended up wallowing both in his own, and in the misfortunes he creates for others; Yozo is someone who wasn't able to build any resilience, self sufficiency, and motivation to follow what he truly wanted. He is someone who decided to give up, and what he wrote in his notebooks is a perfect example of why this type of mindset is so dangerous to succomb to --- these aspects are also part of why it could be difficult for some to read this book; it not only talks about difficult topics and a difficult life, but because one is being directly confronted with these things it also leads to a lot of thinking and a lot of self-reflection. I feel that whoever means to read this book should be aware of that and decide beforehand whether they're in the right state of mind to enjoy it.
But that aside, I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes to think about heavy subjects.