Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Gagal Menjadi Manusia by Osamu Dazai

34 reviews

thefigtree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

fast paced enough to not become boring but slow enough to stay reflective. i loved it. 
if you like camus' the outsider then i think you'll like no longer human. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Rape

Minor: Chronic illness and Vomit

Incredible. I read mainly in one day and loved every page. It's fast paced enough to stay engaging but slow enough to be reflective. It's a beautifully written book on alienation. If you like Camus' The Stranger you'll love this.

_tabby_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This book really captures the self-centered and immoral life lead by the main character, Oba Yozo. Its told from the perspective of Yozo through 3 notebooks and each notebook follows on from the last but progresses through his life until the age of 27. 
Osamu Dazai writes the role of the self-loathing yet hypocritical man, (who believes himself to be an exception from the rules simply because he believes himself to not be human and to be above the understanding of humans) incredibly well but you will never like Yozo. I believe that is the point of the book: to pity the ones who were involved in the life of our main character.
Edit: I just found out this was a suicide note written by Dazai that he wrote in the form of a book... uh.. at least he had a creative outlet???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Blood

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

orange_splice's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

It was a product of its time, unfortunately. Consistent, but brief, sexist stereotypes mentioned throughout the book (The main character saying that women enjoyed doing domestic chores handed to them, calling them emotional and complicated a lot.) Near the beginning, there's a weird mention of the main character doing an 'Indian Dance' jokingly in a loin cloth as a child. It's also mentioned, briefly, that the main character is repeatedly sexually assaulted by women around him from the time he is a child to the end of the book. The most triggering parts of the book are

the main character's alcoholism, reaction to his wife getting raped, and his morphine abuse which are explored in more detail.

gabrielleclarke05's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I cried numerous times in the last 40 pages, not like sobbing cause it’s sad it was just dark and I felt a hole in my chest.
The books writing reminded me of “Call Me by Your Name” writing when it went on tangents and rambled which I didn’t love but it makes sense in this because it is a fractured mind speaking.
It took me a long time to get through this book because it was so grim and depressing but I’m glad I read it.
I’m conflicted on how to rate this because it was a man’s life and his feelings so I don’t want to speak on the subjects. the book is a lot more depressing when you know the author killed himself after publishing it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War

casper__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a very intense type book, Osamu Dazai is not a likeable person, but it’s very easy to find him relatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Chronic illness and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism, Sexual assault, and Vomit

idajoh's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

very deep and reflective. i liked it a lot

i did not love the view of women (especially prostitutes), but in all fairness, Yozo hated everyone. In addition, this was written in 1940s Japan.

Dazai mentions in the Epilogue (sort of) that the notebooks were still relevant ten years after they were written, and even today. 

As someone who struggled with depression, I could feel the authenticity from the author that a lot of other books about mental illness lack, namely that they were written by a neurotypical author.

It was very obvious how his own thoughts were merged with the main character's.

I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: War

pennepasta's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

booksraintea's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

13octopus's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Vomit, and War