Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

298 reviews

en0mad's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

th3reader's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

valsometimesreads's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-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

4.0

“From then on, however, I came to hold, almost as a philosophical conviction, the belief: What is society but an individual?”

An interesting introspection of an unreliable narrator. Dazai’s prose feels very raw and vulnerable in a way that feels like the reader is listening in a confessional. While I can’t personally relate to the objective events in this book, the underlying themes of society vs individual, imposter syndrome, and self criticism are deeply relatable. It is very reminiscent of Albert Camus’ ‘The Stranger,’ and I would definitely read again to dive deeper into the subtext. The book overall is very short but the content itself is rich

A criticism I do have is related to the portrayal of women and

Spoiler

sexual assault

that happens. Whether that is an intentional outlook of the character versus a sign of the author and his times is uncertain to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

chinola's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

carla20's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

anni_o's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexism, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Self harm, Rape, Vomit, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Death, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Ableism, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Grief

lizzield's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

azalya01's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Ableism, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: War and Sexual content

doubledevelo's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment

bookish_manatee's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Drug abuse