No Longer Human [Paperback]

Osamu Dazai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1973

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.

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. Oba Yozo's 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (January 17, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811204812
• ISBN-13: 978-0811204811
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very powerful book, September 20, 2001

By 

Lev Weinstock - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Longer Human (Paperback)

This is one of the most powerful book I have ever read.

This novel (inspired by Dazai's autobiography and written in the first person) tells the story of one person who feels since childhood utterly alien from his fellow human beings but learn to put a face to hide his deep sense of alienation and his despise for the hypocrisy of society. He feels incapable to belong to a human society (hence the title). Follows a descent into alcohol, drugs, suicide as the main character enters into aldulthood.

The story did remind me a little of Camus' The stranger (l'etranger) in so far as both are a tale of a person alienated from the society at large. But Dazai also explore the sense of self-loathing and self-destruction and is therefore much darker (Camus sounds cheerful in comparison).

Dazai is known as a dark post-war writer and indeed this is a dark novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ningen Shikaku, October 31, 2011

By 

J. Ramirez - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: No Longer Human (Paperback)

It is a pretty dark and tragic story but it really makes you wonder about the true nature of humans. The main character is a really interesting one. At time one could easily say: "That's me", sometimes you fell pity for him, sometimes you genuinely hope that he can find happiness and some other times you just downright hate him. Rather than being depressing I would say that it just mirrors life way too clearly. Definitely a must read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius or Madman?, May 13, 2007

By 

Holly C. Rogers (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Longer Human (Paperback)

"No Longer Human", by Osamu Dazai is basically a narrative based on the author's life. It would be difficult not to be captivated by Yozo, the main character of the story. From childhood Yozo feels strangely alienated from human society. As you read his views about the world you can't help but become completely fascinated with his strange way of interpreting the world around him.
This book is obviously intended for a mature audience due to the explicit subject matter involving drugs, alcohol, sex, and prostitution. I think the author's objective in writing this novel is to open the eyes of those who read it. Although the character of Yozo seems odd and quirky, the reader can't help but feel enlightened by his way of seeing things. On several instances I found myself thinking he was in fact a genius for seeing things in such a different way than the average person. This of course would make me the ordinary person. Although as Yozo points out in the book, genius is often mistaken for madness and I suppose it goes the other way as well.
Along with enlightenment comes the sad realization that perhaps it is his ability to see the truth in people that causes him such horror. He knows that people put on false fronts in order to fit into society and because of this one can never truly trust another person. I admit even I can scare myself when I over analyze the fact that you can truly never know another person's thoughts or intentions. Yozo however takes this to extremes and relies on vices to keep his mind from scaring him to death.
I found this book almost impossible to put down. It is a story like no other I have ever read. I found the story captivating. I think part of what kept me interested was wondering if Yozo would ever feel comfortable in his own skin. I almost felt sorry for him and hoped he might find even the slightest bit of happiness. Of course any small bit of happiness he found he would pay for ten fold with misery, which was his nature. Overall I found the book very eye-opening, even though the ending did not have much of a climax.