A review by mari_library
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

challenging dark 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

3.5

This book had a lot of good commentary about humans and society. I think it can be said that this book discusses the world through the lens of anxiety, depression, and addiction—this belief of not being human but having to live in the human world. There were a lot of quotable moments that I found myself relating to. The narrator discusses people pleasing and the idea that disagreeing with someone is a form of sin - which I understand entirely as someone with anxiety.

With that said, the way the narrator talks about women is icky. It is a crawling-under-your-skin type of icky. The narrator heavily objectifies women and has a victim complex even when his wife is a victim of SA. One could argue that the narrator's relationship with women is a side-effect of his addiction and anxiety. However, objectifying women will never be excusable in my eyes so I gotta take down a few stars for that. Also, the narrator will go on these rants that were very dull in my eyes and I actually skipped a whole page because it made no relevance to the overall plot of the book.

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