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A review by versmonesprit
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
From the ashes of the 40s rose two magnificent works of literature: Camus’s The Stranger, and Dazai’s No Longer Human. They’re not exactly comparable but complementary. Sure, the thematic resemblance can be boiled down to the zeitgeist of the war/postwar period, but its handling is not a common feat in literature.
No Longer Human centres an utterly broken protagonist (who, in all honesty, seems to be suffering from a personality disorder) who considers himself a clown, but who’s considered a good person (an angel!) by others on account of his good actions; yet we as the readers know he lacks the impulse to be good. His life is a mask, a show he puts on for the benefit of its spectators. As such, No Longer Human is a wonderful character study in performative humanity, and is ultimately relatable for it deals with “weariness from enduring the task of being a human being”.
At times philosophical, at times tumultuously poetic, No Longer Human is compulsively readable, and flows like no other book as far as I can recall. A must read masterpiece that is rightfully lauded as a “holy grail” book!
No Longer Human centres an utterly broken protagonist (who, in all honesty, seems to be suffering from a personality disorder) who considers himself a clown, but who’s considered a good person (an angel!) by others on account of his good actions; yet we as the readers know he lacks the impulse to be good. His life is a mask, a show he puts on for the benefit of its spectators. As such, No Longer Human is a wonderful character study in performative humanity, and is ultimately relatable for it deals with “weariness from enduring the task of being a human being”.
At times philosophical, at times tumultuously poetic, No Longer Human is compulsively readable, and flows like no other book as far as I can recall. A must read masterpiece that is rightfully lauded as a “holy grail” book!