A review by myynverse
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

No Longer Human is such a good book to show the hypocrisy embedded in our mindset of mental illness. The actions and words never align, and when they do, they start to change completely. We see the perspective of this man who is struggling and can acknowledge it, yet cannot change it. He is stuck in this pattern of vices to try and feel, even if it hurts in the end because he wants to feel something.  Oba struggles with the perception of himself, how others see him, and how society will see him.  He treads on the fine line between feeling above and below everyone. We get to see the perspective of someone being stuck in this void, especially during a time period and culture that doesn't speak of mental illness as human. 

The misogyny and his vices were hard to look at but I don't think it ruined the book for me. I don't think he was meant to be liked as an individual. It is harder to try and want him to do better due to the impact he has had on others, but that doesn't make his trauma any less. He still deserves to have good mental health - but man, he is pretty annoying with his actions.

The Epilogue was also amazing in terms of commentary about societal views on mental illness.  
The fact that his journals were viewed as a good story instead of a narrative about someone's life? Whewww. The fact that Oba was referred to as a madman and had his private journals viewed shows an immense lack of empathy. He was judged harshly for not having good mental health and considering this was Osamu Dazai's last book before committing suicide, one can assume Osamu experienced a similar harshness.
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