No Longer Human
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4.5 • 585 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The poignant and fascinating story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas.
Mine has been a life of much shame. I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.
Portraying himself as a failure, the protagonist of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human narrates a seemingly normal life even while he feels himself incapable of understanding human beings. His attempts to reconcile himself to the world around him begin in early childhood, continue through high school, where he becomes a “clown” to mask his alienation, and eventually lead to a failed suicide attempt as an adult. Without sentimentality, he records the casual cruelties of life and its fleeting moments of human connection and tenderness.
Still one of the ten bestselling books in Japan, No Longer Human is an important and unforgettable modern classic: “The struggle of the individual to fit into a normalizing society remains just as relevant today as it was at the time of writing.” (The Japan Times)
Customer Reviews
Interesting…
The ending was more abrupt than I thought, but also fitting of our character Yozo. Through his experiences you really do feel and see the self alienation that took place in his life.
A review
I find it fascinating how so many find this book to be incredibly resonating, but also some that find it incomprehensible, or even appalling, but I feel that to not understand this book, is to not understand oneself. The message was clear: society is an individual. Ultimately we are all alone and with that comes unavoidable despair, for at least those that don’t fear facing it, or intense discomfort for those who fail to see themselves in it.
Thanks for reading my review!
Amazing
Depression is beautiful described and represented. It’s a book I’ve had to take a break from, but it’s grown to be one of my favorite reads.