A review by ivan_tw
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.25

A tough book to rate. On one hand, it says a lot about the human (especially male) condition; why guys act the way they do, their neuroses, their unhappiness, the expectations placed upon them by their families and society, both expectations for themselves and for how the world will work around them. For that reason, it's probably not a bad psychological text.

On the other hand - it's a deeply unpleasant read, and I'm not fully sure if it's unpleasant for the reason Dazai hoped. Yozo, the protagonist, is awful in so many different directions; he's deeply, virulently misogynist, is cursed with a massive chip on his shoulder for those around him who can't recognize his 'genius', gives up almost immediately when things don't go the way he expected, and exhaustingly has an inferiority complex and superiority complex simultaneously. Just reading page after page of his contempt for everyone else in the story disguised as rather weak self-loathing took its toll on me, and as a result it took me a couple months to finish what is a pretty slim book.

It's hard to say if that was Dazai's intention with the novel, or whether his intention should actually matter in this case. Either way, I definitely need a palate cleanser after finishing No Longer Human.
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