No Longer Human

De: Osamu Dazai

Narrado por: David Shih

"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.

©1958 New Directions Publishing Corp. (P)2016 Tantor Media, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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)

Life be like that

A tale of poor choices that lead to more poor choices. This tale shows how consequences can overshadow the core of who we are.

It was interesting listening to

I like the main character destructive choices and how it expresses guilt for it. I don’t like his view on women especially prostitution. It may

A voice of depression

The story is not a happy one. As someone who struggled with depression through stages of my life I found myself relating to the Yozo

Perfect

Perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect perfection I would recommend this book if you watch Bungo stray dogs

Not sure if I’d recommend

It’s definitely an eye opening account of one man’s struggle with depression, masking, probable personality disorders, and feeling like an outsider. The man was such a user that I struggled to feel anything for him. Depression and other mental health issues are a struggle and unfortunately these are some of the behaviors that manifest.

Like looking into a muddy mirror.

I'm someone who has ASD / ADHD, and listening to this book, I can almost sum it up as the downfall of a man suffering from the same afflictions in early 20th century Japan. I have had many of the same behaviors and thought with the same rational as the protagonist during his child / teen years, however I was fortunate to have grown up in a family and social environment which facilitated patience, understanding, and mental health awareness. Still, listening to this feels like I am listening to the tale of what my life could be had I not been given such fortunate circumstances. I think this book would be a good listen to help build understandings of how and why those who do not think with neurotypicalness can fall into cycles of self destruction, and why the gap of understanding between the neurodivergent and neurotypical can often lead to one feeling isolated, and not of the same species.

Intriguing postwar Japanese literature

I think I liked it. I can see why it’s such a popular work. I wasn’t a fan of the protagonist for several reasons, but it’s was definitely nice story telling. There are many moments in the book that disgusted or irritated me in the face value. But it is clear there are many complicated factors (time period, economy, gender, “innate” human behaviors, etc.) to why it happened. It is very interesting to analyze why the people or society behaved in certain ways. It actually makes me want to listen to this again when thinking about those factors and events.

An arrow pointing towards sadness

A deeply disturbing story through and through, but one that can be learned from in the negative. Beautifully written to a point where I suggest you do not read this book if you’re a depressed person as the writing romanticizes depression as it reveals it for what it is.

No longer human review

The speaker makes a sharp “s” sound that completely bothered me throughout the listen but aside from that it’s a great story about identity and real life problems along with how easily they can find you.

The Deception of Self-Perception

This novel is one of the most reflective and thorough study of self-degradation and environmental influence I’ve ever read. Do not skip the translators note either, it’s a great exploration of the cultural context and influence behind the novel. Excellent narration and phenomenal payoff. Highly recommend!