Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - No Longer Human

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

i would say the book was terribly sad but oddly funny, at times, in its absurdity. the main character seemed to run so much from the idea of “society” of what he believed a human being is like that he somehow got stuck in it. i think, at the end, through it all, his biggest enemy was himself

Content Warnings

fishreads's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

I seriously didn't get what this guy's problem was, except being an entitled spineless brat with zero redeeming qualities. But apparently this book is second most sold book in Japan, what am I not getting here?

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lukes_ramblingwritings66's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

I sit here, after finished reading No Longer Human, or rather "Disqualified to be Human" with a weird sensation. On one end, this was a miserable tale. Understandably so, with it being a semi-autobiographical affair, as Dazai himself may have suffered from CPTSD at a young age and attempted to take his life five times, with the fifth being the final attempt. On the other end, I found brief moments of air, as if after one had their head submerged in water for too long, only to come to the surface at the last minute.

I'm just going to leave it at that. The level of emptiness(?) I feel now will probably stick with me for a while. A very similar feeling after watching Park Chan-Wook's film Oldboy for the first time, albeit, a slightly different context.

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vikart's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-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

5.0

I believe that "No Longer Human" can be summed up in 3 words: ironic, comical, tragic.

Ironically enough, the main character of "No Longer Human" is a prime example of what it is to be human and many others have followed a similar path of shame as he has.

Comically enough, the main character never realises how easily he could've continued blending into society. He was naturally smart and good looking, everything society wants, yet he is afraid of being stranded by the same society. They never would have, though, as it was proven time and time again that his actions didn't hinder his ability to create new relationships.

Tragically enough, the main character's life is very closely synonymous as the author writing this, yet this book is not meant to be a memoir.

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mangonana's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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mazzoccatoadele's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

3.5

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augustst's review against another edition

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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

3.75

Content Warnings

ada_elisabeth's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've been meaning to read this book for two years, so when I saw it in a Barnes & Noble when picking up a gift for a friend, I decided that now would finally be the time.

I'm so glad I read this. It was dramatic, melancholic, and deeply philosophical. It was one of the best explorations of the human experience I've ever read. It was one of the few translated books that I found to have beautiful writing. It was, in an odd way, comforting.

This book does a great job of balancing the intensity of Yozo's life and emotions; although it is often a very calm, slow-paced story, there are moments (especially towards the end) when it begins to spiral and peak in the best way possible.

I am sure I will revisit this book (and this review) in the future, because I loved it and I could think about it probably for the rest of my life, but for now, we're on to other things.

Since I still haven't started school yet, there may be time for one final book of Sad Book Summer, but if not, this was a remarkable way to close the season out. It wasn't tender or gentle in the way that many other sad books are, and it had almost no positivity or happiness in it, but sometimes, that's the only thing I want to read. I think this may very well be my favorite book of the year. 5/5. Incredible.

There were too many amazing quotes for me to pick just one favorite, so here are my top three:

"There are all kinds of unhappy people in the world."

"I wonder if I have actually been happy."

"It is curious, but the cathedrals of melancholy are not necessarily demolished if one can replace the vulgar "What a messy business it is to be fallen for" with the more literary "What uneasiness lies in being loved."

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