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A review by marinalikeaboatyard
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yozo would absolutely f*cking love ‘the tortured poets department’.
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this was recommended highly by a lovely barnes & noble employee with whom I shared literary taste, but he seemed to be far more familiar with japanese literature and he has opened up my world. I cannot recommend this highly enough. yozo is the most insufferable, frustrating, selfish, yet sympathetic protagonist, someone who just can’t get out from under himself. dazai, writing in the decades following ww2, meditates uniquely on society and the individual, and what “qualifies” one to be a part of society…and if it’s even real at all, and if god or sin plays any role in that qualification.
I don’t know many western/american readers who know this author or read asian literature, so I implore them to jump in with this one. it’s relatable, quick, interesting, and accessible, and opens a world of japanese literature that I, for one, want to keep exploring.
**************
this was recommended highly by a lovely barnes & noble employee with whom I shared literary taste, but he seemed to be far more familiar with japanese literature and he has opened up my world. I cannot recommend this highly enough. yozo is the most insufferable, frustrating, selfish, yet sympathetic protagonist, someone who just can’t get out from under himself. dazai, writing in the decades following ww2, meditates uniquely on society and the individual, and what “qualifies” one to be a part of society…and if it’s even real at all, and if god or sin plays any role in that qualification.
I don’t know many western/american readers who know this author or read asian literature, so I implore them to jump in with this one. it’s relatable, quick, interesting, and accessible, and opens a world of japanese literature that I, for one, want to keep exploring.