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_mallrat_ 's review for:
No Longer Human
by Osamu Dazai
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I considered what review to give this book, if I were to give one at all. I ultimately decided to give it a numerical value because the author published this book to be read and, by extension, to be judged.
On account of No Longer Human being semi-autobiographical and the character work being the most important, I don't feel the need to criticize specific plot points in the story.The events described are a cascade of horrible situations that Yozo fixates on and uses as evidence to judge himself. This disproportionate amount of misery is an intentional choice meant to portray mental illness, and a very effective one.
While this is not uncommon in the time No Longer Human was written, an issue I have with the book is that the misogyny can be gratuitous at times to a point where it's difficult to read through. Regardless, I recommend toughing through these parts because fully understanding the book would involve reading the whole thing. The epilogue redeems a lot of the book, but simultaneously makes it weak in other aspects.This section shows an outsider perspective on Yozo as a person, where the reader is reminded that the events described in the journals were exaggerated and that characters acted due to being unaware of Yozo's mindset. One issue I had was an explanation that Yozo's father was responsible for Yozo's behavior. I wish that there were more scenes with Yozo's father to make it clearer whether this is a genuine conclusion or another misunderstanding by other characters. However, the epilogue recontextualizes the story and affirms the reason why it was written.
No Longer Human is an overall great story that depicts the full grit of mental illness. It's a short book, but not a light read by any means.
On account of No Longer Human being semi-autobiographical and the character work being the most important, I don't feel the need to criticize specific plot points in the story.
While this is not uncommon in the time No Longer Human was written, an issue I have with the book is that the misogyny can be gratuitous at times to a point where it's difficult to read through. Regardless, I recommend toughing through these parts because fully understanding the book would involve reading the whole thing. The epilogue redeems a lot of the book, but simultaneously makes it weak in other aspects.
No Longer Human is an overall great story that depicts the full grit of mental illness. It's a short book, but not a light read by any means.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, War