No Longer Human

By: Osamu Dazai

Narrated by: 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.

Critic reviews

“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)

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.

The life of someone misunderstood

wow. this was a dreadful recount of someone who had live with so much disdain for themself.

Incredibly Human

Amazing point of perspective. Tragically honest and humbling. It’s interesting when a character is so privileged, brooding, cold and at the same time, pathetic, needy and hopeless. Amazing to meet a character that is in a constant state of self reflection, knows who they are but doesn’t ever really see themselves or know how others see them. Love it.

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.

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

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.

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!

absolutely messed up.

messed up but tragic and a very important story in terms of mental health. it has became a favorite of mine in the same vain of looking at a beautifully ugly picture and ironically that is the art that the main character loved to paint.

Bad narrator

The narators voice was harsh and really annoyed me. Or maybe it’s the way it was mixed our edited…. It felt incredibly loud at times even at low levels and when I tried playing in the car it would blow out my speaker with loud puffs

Boring

I saw this book recommended on social media. A lot of people remarked that they couldn't finish it... I think I'm missing something.