A review by rubybereading
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I didn’t enjoy reading this, but I respect it. The main character was very unlikeable and infuriated me at times, but he was also very damaged and broken and had been through so much as a child that I couldn’t help but feel empathetic towards him. His notebooks showed a high level of vulnerability, but it lacked a certain level of self-awareness in my opinion. I do know from my own experiences and from dealing with loved ones who suffer or have suffered from debilitating depression that it’s hard to see things for how they truly are and that you can develop a tendency to lie to yourself in order to cope with some of the realities of your existence. The fact that he felt he couldn’t relate to other humans, though, was actually one of the most relatable things about him. Still, this book left a sour taste in my mouth. It was hard getting through some of it and reading about the self-destructive choices he made and the way he nonchalantly and dismissively affected the people in his life in some extremely horrible ways. This book could be very triggering for many reasons, but that’s kind of what makes me respect it more. It’s a raw and uncut depiction of how mental illness can manifest in someone’s life, and is told in a very unapologetic manner that really does make him more honestly “human” than most people would feel comfortable admitting.