Reviews with content warning for Rape - No Longer Human

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

284 reviews

ilovesnoopy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Before even picking up this book, I highly recommend the reader to read up on Osamu Dazai's life because it gives so much valuable context to this book. The main focus of No Longer Human truly is about the flaws of the main character which reflect the author's own struggles before he took his own life. The writing style is an almost biographical nature and takes the reader on a journey of the hero's life from childhood to death. From this, the reader gains insightful perspective into Dazai's thoughts of the concept of a "society" and the qualities of being a "human" in a society. As the protagonist of the book grows up, his struggles and fears with his identity and belongingness grow with him. This book receives a lot of criticism for Dazai's writing of women but I argue it that his perspective is misunderstood and justifiably skewed by the protagonist (and author's) traumatic life experiences.
Overall, an insightful read that would leave the reader contemplating their preconceived notions of society and gain perspective into the tragedies that are often hidden under its guise.

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est_her's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I am relieved to find i'm no longer mentally ill enough to find comfort in this novel/enjoy it as much as the first time i read it. Yozo starts out as a child having difficulties understanding the people around him and incapable of building genuine connections with other humans. There, his struggles are almost relatable to the reader. As he grows up, Yozo makes so many mistakes, allows so many terrible people to influence him negatively that the main character even completely alienates the reader from himself. Every time it seems he may have a chance to turn his life around, he repeats the same mistakes, each time in a more horrifying manner than before. By the end of the novel, it is so sickening that it qualifies as a horror story.

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blububbs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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chinola's review against another edition

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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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carla20's review against another edition

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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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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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