Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by chroniqled
Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human: The Manga Edition by Osamu Dazai
4.0
what a book.
i barely have the words, but i will try:
that was one of the most depressing books i have ever read— but one that felt almost too real? unsurprisingly, it’s said to be osamu dazai’s semi-autobiography where the main character is actually based on himself. how’s that for catharsis
here we have yozo, the sixth son of a parliament member— small, insignificant, and anxious. he has always lived his life in fear of humans. because of this, he has learned to try to please everyone, acting like a fool so that everyone will laugh and then perhaps like him, distracting them from the miserable human being actually living under the surface.
he has lived a life of tragedy, and frankly has always been dealt with the worst cards, therefore turning to the addiction of alcohol and women, to cope. it all becomes a cycle, and then just he spirals deeper and deeper into his depression.
let me tell you: the story does not get better. at all. it just gets worse and worse until yozo is left with nothing but his own misery, his own painful existence. he’s attempted suicide numerous times, but he just cannot seem to die— so he lets the days pass. and pass. and pass, with nothing else to do but wait for death to take him naturally, then.
reading this heavy book as a manga helped quite a lot with regards to comprehension, and being able to really see the effect of all these tragedies on yozo. i have yet to read the novel itself, but i think reading it in comic form definitely makes it into a relatively lighter experience, as opposed to really being able to read it all in heavy detail.
for this book, i give
i barely have the words, but i will try:
that was one of the most depressing books i have ever read— but one that felt almost too real? unsurprisingly, it’s said to be osamu dazai’s semi-autobiography where the main character is actually based on himself. how’s that for catharsis
here we have yozo, the sixth son of a parliament member— small, insignificant, and anxious. he has always lived his life in fear of humans. because of this, he has learned to try to please everyone, acting like a fool so that everyone will laugh and then perhaps like him, distracting them from the miserable human being actually living under the surface.
he has lived a life of tragedy, and frankly has always been dealt with the worst cards, therefore turning to the addiction of alcohol and women, to cope. it all becomes a cycle, and then just he spirals deeper and deeper into his depression.
let me tell you: the story does not get better. at all. it just gets worse and worse until yozo is left with nothing but his own misery, his own painful existence. he’s attempted suicide numerous times, but he just cannot seem to die— so he lets the days pass. and pass. and pass, with nothing else to do but wait for death to take him naturally, then.
reading this heavy book as a manga helped quite a lot with regards to comprehension, and being able to really see the effect of all these tragedies on yozo. i have yet to read the novel itself, but i think reading it in comic form definitely makes it into a relatively lighter experience, as opposed to really being able to read it all in heavy detail.
for this book, i give