I picked this up after reading The Setting Sun, which was exceptionally written. So naturally, I had high expectations for this one, and Dazai doesn’t disappoint. In fact, I think No Longer Human is even better than The Setting Sun because of how raw and genuine the emotions are in every. fucking. sentence.
Dazai is known for writing “I-novels,” a genre where the author tells their own story through fictional characters. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I think it helps to know that Dazai struggled deeply with his mental health. You can learn more about his life afterward, but personally, I’d hold off on that until after finishing the book.
This novel feels incredibly heavy. Even after revisiting this review and rewriting parts of it, I can still feel the weight of the story. It’s about a protagonist who, despite wanting to take control of his life, just couldn’t. He’s stuck in a cycle of self-destruction, unable to escape the very things that numb his pain but also slowly destroy him.
There’s no redemption in this book. No silver lining. No hope. Just a slow erosion of a person’s will to live.
“I want to die. I want to die more than ever before. There’s no chance now of a recovery… That dream of going on bicycles to see a waterfall framed in summer leaves—it was not for the likes of me… Living itself is the source of sin.”
— Osamu Dazai, No Longer Human
This quote hit me like a truck. It’s so painfully honest. And the entire book feels like that—unfiltered, raw, and unbearably heavy. You’re not just reading about a fictional character’s pain. You’re feeling Dazai’s own suffering bleed through every page. I felt genuinely sad for him, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted to help him.
Personally, No Longer Human resonated with me in a way very few books ever have. For me, depression has often felt like an endless limbo. Like this broken version of yourself is all you’ll ever be. This novel captures that feeling frighteningly well.
This book is so fucking good in the most fucked-up way. It destroyed me, and I’m grateful for it.
Have you read this book? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments! If not, let me know if it’s on your list! ❤️
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