A review by emilyreadstoomuch
No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazai
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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 literally have no choice but to give this five stars.
it’s so terrifying to experience a disconnection not only from the world around you but from your own self too. the main character, yozo, describes his life as one so far disconnected from his society that he believes there is no way he himself could possibly be human. ironically, most of the experiences he laments over seem to be relatively universal. (and if they’re not i definitely need to bring this up with my therapist lmfao.) i mean, is there anything <i>more</i> human than actively trying to seem normal?
many of the ideas presented in this book are commonly recognized now, but it was first published in japan in the 40s. it’s crazy to see firsthand how prevalent mental illness and addiction were in a society that refused to acknowledge, much less address, such issues. and the original author of the journals does so in such a beautiful narration. i was so moved while reading this like i probably felt every emotion possible.
i tabbed this book probably ten thousand times but here are some quotes that really stuck out to me for whatever reason.
“I have sometimes thought that I have been burdened with a pack of ten misfortunes, any one of which if borne by my neighbor would be enough to make a murderer of him…. if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?”
“I fail to see, however, that a distrust for human beings should necessarily lead directly to religion. Is it not true, rather, that human beings, including those who may now be deriding me, are living in mutual distrust, giving not a thought to God or anything else?”
“What uneasiness lies in being loved.”
“There are some people whose dread of human beings is so morbid that they reach a point where they yearn to see with their own eyes monsters of ever more horrible shapes. And the more nervous they are—the quicker to take fright—the more violent they pray that every storm will be ...”
“The agonies I have suffered night after night have made for a hell composed of an infinite diversity of tortures, but—though this is a very strange way to put it—the wound has gradually become dearer to me than my own flesh and blood, and I have thought its pain to be the emotion of the wound as it lived or even its murmur of affection.”
“I was frightened even by God. I could not believe in His love, only in His punishment. Faith. That, I felt, was the act of facing the tribunal of justice with one's head bowed to receive the scourge of God. I could believe in hell, but it was impossible for me to believe in the existence of heaven.”
“Is it not true that no two human beings understand anything whatsoever about each other, that those who consider themselves bosom friends may be utterly mistaken about their fellow and, failing to realize this sad truth throughout a lifetime, weep when they read in the newspapers about his death?”
it’s so terrifying to experience a disconnection not only from the world around you but from your own self too. the main character, yozo, describes his life as one so far disconnected from his society that he believes there is no way he himself could possibly be human. ironically, most of the experiences he laments over seem to be relatively universal. (and if they’re not i definitely need to bring this up with my therapist lmfao.) i mean, is there anything <i>more</i> human than actively trying to seem normal?
many of the ideas presented in this book are commonly recognized now, but it was first published in japan in the 40s. it’s crazy to see firsthand how prevalent mental illness and addiction were in a society that refused to acknowledge, much less address, such issues. and the original author of the journals does so in such a beautiful narration. i was so moved while reading this like i probably felt every emotion possible.
i tabbed this book probably ten thousand times but here are some quotes that really stuck out to me for whatever reason.
“I have sometimes thought that I have been burdened with a pack of ten misfortunes, any one of which if borne by my neighbor would be enough to make a murderer of him…. if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?”
“I fail to see, however, that a distrust for human beings should necessarily lead directly to religion. Is it not true, rather, that human beings, including those who may now be deriding me, are living in mutual distrust, giving not a thought to God or anything else?”
“What uneasiness lies in being loved.”
“There are some people whose dread of human beings is so morbid that they reach a point where they yearn to see with their own eyes monsters of ever more horrible shapes. And the more nervous they are—the quicker to take fright—the more violent they pray that every storm will be ...”
“The agonies I have suffered night after night have made for a hell composed of an infinite diversity of tortures, but—though this is a very strange way to put it—the wound has gradually become dearer to me than my own flesh and blood, and I have thought its pain to be the emotion of the wound as it lived or even its murmur of affection.”
“I was frightened even by God. I could not believe in His love, only in His punishment. Faith. That, I felt, was the act of facing the tribunal of justice with one's head bowed to receive the scourge of God. I could believe in hell, but it was impossible for me to believe in the existence of heaven.”
“Is it not true that no two human beings understand anything whatsoever about each other, that those who consider themselves bosom friends may be utterly mistaken about their fellow and, failing to realize this sad truth throughout a lifetime, weep when they read in the newspapers about his death?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexism, Self harm, Mental illness, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Classism