Reviews with content warning for Death - No Longer Human

I love this book, but be warned that it deals with a lot of serious topics and is not for the faint of heart. Also the history behind this book is insane; it's semi-autobiographical but in the eyes of someone who is likely schizophrenic and bipolar, which adds a layer of mystery that's confusing in the best way possible. If your ok with darker books then I 100% recommend No Longer Human.

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mions's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

Having struggled with a sense of disconnection from humanity since childhood, the relatable parts of No Longer Human, ironically enough, helped me feel a lot more human. All the content not included in that statement served as a reminder of why that should be held onto, and how lucky I am to get to feel that way. Though the subject matters are heavy, this book left me with a sense of gratitude. Even with all its raw depictions of the harshness of reality, to me, this is a beautifully written novel.

I did not find the book as soul-crushing as it is often described. The overall tone is typically surprisingly neutral, and at times humorous. It’s much more than a monotone angst-dump, but the story and characters are nothing if not tragic.

Yozo as a main character divides people for a reason, and I can’t exactly blame the people who do not like him. By the end of the book, he is undoubtedly not a great person, but even if his actions aren’t great, they do come across as understandable with all the context provided. To those who have struggled with similar issues with mental health, at times his thoughts can be shockingly relatable. At the beginning of the book, there were parts where Dazai touches on some deeply relatable themes, despite being deeply relatable.

I can only hope that the actual plot points aren’t too reminiscent of many readers’ personal experiences, but it is no wonder that the themes present in No Longer Human resonated with many so strongly that the book became Japan’s 2nd best-selling novel.

While not happy, I find a lot of beauty in aspects of the worldview depicted. There is a sense of quiet appreciation for the significance in what is normally deemed as mundane. It doesn’t turn Yozo’s life into a happy one; it made me appreciate the meaning in some of the less exciting aspects of life as well.

Even if thinking of No Longer Human has at times filled me with dread, I’m grateful for its existence, and happy that I read it.

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farzaan's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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w3nda1's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

3.0

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lifepath7's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

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333amreen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.5

The first half was REALLY interesting! But it lost the spark as it went on, other than a few shocking incidents here & there. Overall, decent read.

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lenadesouza's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

3.0

a well written red pill statement.

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ash0ncloud2306's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

3.25

Spoiler (later on): I personally didn’t “love” nor “liked” the book but I did understand it. I understand it’s a suicidal note which makes it sad and to know it’s a semi autobiography makes it even awful. The main character did not have any redeemable qualities at all other than his self-awareness most of the times (except his misogynistic views and thoughts and feelings). There were some things that just made me question myself why am I reading this book? I was hoping for the main character redemption arc. I was really rooting for him. And at the end “Everything passes”. At least to my understanding, that is the whole point of the book where the main character holds no redeemable qualities which makes him disqualified as a human… no longer a human. At the epilogue, they call him an Angel so perhaps he is not a human because he is not that species (I am only connecting ideas here and there or the want of connecting ideas so this can be ignored). Also he was called an Angel at the epilogue though his life…. He was not being his true self I feel or took a stand for his art. Lots of self sabotaging along with not really wanting anything. He wanted a book as a present from his dad in the beginning and that was disappointing to everyone in the family so there’s a lot of psychological issues from the main character which I felt bad for. I was really rooting for him. I really was :/ I don’t know how I feel about the book tbh. I’m not happy nor sad. Just empty. If anyone gets attached to the author and work, I’d recommend this book. I wouldn’t really recommend it to people though. It had great prose. There’s just… questionable things in there that I can’t slide it away. I mean read the book at your will. This is my opinion.

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