Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

92 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

est_her's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Rape, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Child abuse

blububbs's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: War, Rape, and Blood

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

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

venusynth's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

I have never experienced such misfortunes or the misery, that is Yozo’s greatest enemy and oldest friend—and I wish all that Yozo experienced on no one, nobody— but I enjoyed this story. Like, as the commonly used simile states, a car crash you can’t look away from. Except it gets worse as you turn the pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

rionardo's review against another edition

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

This book is incredilby depressing and deals with hard topics. While reading I found myself relating to the main character, but I also hated and despised him throughout the book. I also felt bad for him. Still one of my favorite books and has a big impact on me and what I think about mental illnesses.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent

akane_shio's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape

ezraphobicbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

This isn't a book I would necessarily recommend, but I still think it was very interesting to read. The overall tone of the book can be upsetting, so I wouldn't read this when experiencing poor mental health.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug use

abibliophobic_nerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Blood, Infidelity, and Vomit