Reviews with content warning for Suicide - No Longer Human

I really enjoyed the first half of the story. Yozo was a very introspective and self reflecting character since he was a child, but as he grows older, he seems to burry himself deeper in his own view of the world, and misses that self awareness he had at the beggining of his life. As an adult, he brings nothing but tragedy to the people around him, specially women. His view of women and their role in society revolves around his very limited vision of the world and seems to fundamentally blame women of everything that goes wrong in his life. I found it fascinating that almost everyone around him seemed to exempt him of his faults and put the blame on someone else, but I guess is the consequence of Yozo constantly faking what he really thinks and feels.
I liked that the final message of the books was that "everything passes".

Spoiler

Even though Yozo's ending was tragic, the overall message that no matter how hard life gets, it will pass, was strangely conforting in a novel so dark.

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I will definitely pick up the author's other books.

Content Warnings

anni_o's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

1.5

Protagonist / Writer of the Notebooks is rather sexist. I guess it is a product of its time, but it sure did not age well. The prose is beautiful in parts, and a mix of vague and too detailed in others. The insight into his depressive episodes was very meaningful/insightful, and it was a rather quick read. I related to the protagonist in part, especially with the view of the world, but in other parts it was frustrating to see him spiral further and further.

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azalya01's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I have to say that this story is unlike anything I have ever read. I have read stories with unlikable protagonists before, but I have never encountered a character with such a deep difficulty in connecting with other people. Although I am someone who finds it easy to connect and empathize with others, Yozo's hopeless view of the world made me consider that an individual's humanity isn't always as easy to find as one might think. This book really challenged me to question my own habits of passing judgment on others.

Try to keep in mind that the character Yozo is intentionally flawed and that his journey through life is not necessarily meant to be an admirable one. I personally perceived the instances of misogyny and toxicity in this book as shortcomings of the character rather than messages we are meant to internalize as valid.

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Overall, this was an intriguing story about what it means to be human, and how sometimes our worst enemies are ourselves.

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doubledevelo's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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bookish_manatee's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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venusynth's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I have never experienced such misfortunes or the misery, that is Yozo’s greatest enemy and oldest friend—and I wish all that Yozo experienced on no one, nobody— but I enjoyed this story. Like, as the commonly used simile states, a car crash you can’t look away from. Except it gets worse as you turn the pages.

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ashtronomic's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

The epitome of misery. Osamu Dazai has encapsulated the feeling of overwhelming despair into a short but eloquent novel.

If you have ever experienced depression, then you will find an uncomfortable familiarity in this book. The agony expressed within the pages is unrestrained and intense; it is easily the most raw conveyance of the most extreme depression that I have ever encountered. I was completely unsurprised to discover that the author had attempted multiple suicide attempts by the time he wrote this novel.

No Longer Human is surprisingly timeless. I knew it was a classic piece of literature when I picked up the book, but didn’t feel pulled to any particular time frame whilst reading. It is fascinating to see that the novel is currently trending with younger audiences online. Recently it has been showing up frequently on my tiktok feed; a testament to the books continuing relevance to society.

The plot itself is not particularly strong, but it fulfils its role as a vessel for Dazai’s self reflection and is a succinct companion to his thoughts on the world around us. "Imagine saying that the law was the antonym of crime! But perhaps everybody in “society” can go on living in self-satisfaction, thanks to just such simple concepts."

I believe that this book needs to be read in a very specific state of mind, readers who have never experienced such desolate feelings may not enjoy the book at all. Similarly anyone currently in their own period of depression may find the sentiment too immense. “Whenever I was asked what I wanted my first impulse was to answer "Nothing." The thought went through my mind that it didn't make any difference, that nothing was going to make me happy.”

A great read for the right person at the right time.

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