No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a really quick read for me - I've heard that it's a classic in Japanese literature, so I wanted to check it out. I can safely say that I understand why it has stood the test of time since it coming out in the 50s. I'm not Japanese nor have I lived in Japan, so I can't confirm or deny how much of a commentary this story is on Japanese culture, but I can give my perspective on how this book related to me personally. I was really impressed with how the author managed to make such an unlikable protagonist almost universally relatable. I hope that there aren't many people who see all of themselves in Yozo, but I think that everyone will find some part of his experience relatable. For me, I have very bad anxiety, I tend to cover that anxiety with humor, and I often fear that I'm a manipulative person for wanting to hide my anxiety at all.
For the most part, despite its humor, this is a very dark book. It's written as a monologue from the main character, Yozo, speaking about all the bad experiences he's had in his life and how he feels he is entirely to blame and deserves them all. With a premise like that, I almost didn't read the book at all because I generally don't like sad things. I was pleasantly surprised that this book never felt oppressive to read. I don't know what it is, if it was the humor or just the clinical way that Yozo narrates, but I never felt depressed through all 177 pages of a depressed alcoholic's life. That in and of itself is a triumph.
[SPOILERS] It was the last few lines that really tied the book together for me though. After hearing Yozo speak so poorly of himself for the entire book, you get to see the perspective of one of his old friends, who described him as a pleasant man and an angel. I really loved that ending, because it showed that despite how horrible Yozo thought of himself, he was very liked by the people around him. As someone who suffers from anxiety and often thinks poorly of myself as a result, that was a nice ending to a book that easily could have ended very darkly. [END SPOILERS]
I don't think this book changed my life, but it was definitely an interesting read that I could easily recommend to most people. Between the interesting prose and a protagonist that I believe everyone can find a little bit of themselves in, I think everyone would be able to take something away from this story. Like I said, it's a really fast read, so definitely check it out if you're interested!
>>Also - and this has nothing to do with the story itself - my version had a printing error where the end of Notebook 1 and the beginning of Notebook 2 were printed a second time later in the book. I'm curious if anyone else had the same thing happen with their copy?
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