Osamu Dazai - No Longer Human BOOK REVIEW

mf did 3 sponsor in the starting 3min of the video

I think the character in the novel has Schizoid Personality Disorder, which is magnitudes worse than what most people think of as depression/suicidal tendencies. Source: Me, a schizoid.

I don’t know if you’re Canadian 😅 but this vibe is so Canadian 😂

Just read the Junji ito manga version very good truly displayed the horror dazai was talking about at least to me liked it a lot RIP Dazai

i read this in the car today, it took me a couple hours, it was devastating

Yikes, I think I just heard myself described.

He's just like me frfr

i read this book years ago and recently read it again. i really resonated with the childish aspect of the beginning the first time around so reading it again i paid more attention and this time i resonated more with the lonely depressing aspect and i appreciated it a lot more. must read for anyone.

Great vid! Loved your insights!

I bought it today and read it all, the story really makes you feel both sorry for him and also kind of despise him. Lot of food for thought.

It bored me, though have to admit it has some interest. Think Dazai never pardoned himself to have obeyed his father and the Police, in quitting the Japanese Communist Party. Whose ideas he really shared. The other burden on his shoulders was to be kind of a parasite. And to feel so. He should have spoken clearly with his controller father, and had come into terms with. To fix some sort of agreement. Instead, he became quite a good for nothing, and couldn't avoid feeling this way. Having to depend on his father was, of course, hateful for him. Although he was a comics drawer, he could barely earn his life with this. Think The Decline is a much better novel. About Less than Human, it reminded me of the Drieu La Rochelle Fireworks (Le Feu Follet). In the sense that both books are dealing with a Nihilist, as the main character. The most interesting thing about Dazai, was, for me, his somehow rare relation with women. Didn't understand why he had to lead his girlfriends or women to suicide with him. Had to suppose it was kind of a love proof, somehow. Didn't like that. Thought that being so that he couldn't be a commie, he believed in nothing. If he couldn't stick to his real way of thinking, he could not believe in anything else. Although he doesn't speak much about it in this book. He felt he had betrayed his comrades in quitting them. And so, he became misfit, living for nothing, believing in nothing and sinking in alcohol and drugs. Someone so sensitive that couldn't bear being alive, could neither accept himself as a useless one. Pity, for The Decline and some of his Short Stories evidenced he was a good writer, if not the best among the jap ones. Dazai stands at the same level of Mishima and Murakami, for me. 🙄😳🆗✔️

Idk if the way the book written
Things like suicide seems to be a part of life like you know what I mean it feels very normal

Bro thank you for that take on this masterpiece. that bowling ball pin amazon version fo the book, I also first bought befor I could my father to read my favorite book in his language, german. So kudos forever my man

Tragic yes. Definitely not a genius. If the guy is more obsessed with despair and abuse himself with substance. All that brain power can be used to figure out how to make life better.

Never thought I'd see Arthur Shelby doing book reviews.

You're such a cool dude. Love your videos. Hope we get the chance to converse one day.

Yo I mean this as a compliment. I could totally see you in a black and white like 1800s presidential photograph, you have that type of look

over 2 minutes to start and its all adds this is crazy

Spoiler alert. What hit me hard was when Yozo didn't care if he would go to prison or not. He almost wanted to go to prison. Even the Detective and DA knew they couldn't prosecute him and they were like WTF is wrong with him.

Arthur Shelby starts reading

The flowers of buffoonery is I thought was a good book I really like his book and how he writes them x

‼️To me the main character of this book is literally the male version of the main character in My Year Of Rest And Relaxation. Clearly they're both dealing with some serious mental issues such as grief and depression. But they are also being self-destructive and in their spiral of self-destruction they hurt other people around them. Both of these characters are completely self-obsessed and struggling with substance use in a slow self ending.
The main character of No longer Human is way more of a terrible person than the main character of MYORAR, BUT he is way more likable than she is. Because he lies and tells people what they want to hear and does whatever he wants and that causes extreme suffering and pain to those around him.
Such as the case of the two sisters. He tells them both he loves them and has seggs with them both. Then when the first sister catches in the act she ends the other sister who is pregnant with his child. Because she is also pregnant with his child. So she is sentenced to deletion and he just dips and abandons that kid. Not to mention the kid whose death he causes in the very first part of the book. To me both of these books are dealing with the same issues and themes but with completely different characters in a completely different setting.
I really disliked the main characters for the same reason. Because they never took responsibility for their own actions. Neither feels guilty about who they have hurt. They are both so busy throwing themselves pity parties and feeling sorry for themselves that they are literally incapable of feeling empathy for anyone else.
You can't help it if you're mentally ill but you can still control your actions and that doesn't give you an excuse to terrorize and harm innocent people around you. YOU are still ultimately responsible for YOUR own actions and you don't get to hide behind mental illness as a shield to avoid responsibility and blame. And I see this parallel in real life too. People who have experienced real suffering are the ones capable of inflicting real suffering on others. They spend all their time looking in a mirror m@$7urbating with their own tears to ever feel anything for anyone else.

It is the most depressing book I have ever read, but I really enjoyed reading it.

BSD FANS WHERE YOU AT?!

Have you read the prequel of the book also written by dazai when he was still relatively young called the flowers of buffoonery? It was written after his first lovers suicide where only he survived and it's interesting how to read on how much he evolved as a writer and how different the mood is in this book.

Honestly, I related to him, not for the depressive shit, but because of the alienation, not trusting humans and putting up masks to hide away from them

I pity him, for I somewhat see myself in him, a possible future for me.

what a find! that didnt know about and i did read a lot about Mishima, sounds like a must-read...

I just finished this book. I have such a weird mix of feelings. It felt very invasive to learn so much about the protagonist in such a casual way. To talk about despair in such a casual way was so devastating to me to read.

No Longer Human and Dazai's experience is a lot about Japanese society, Yozo was a victim of the society which still ignores mental illnesses to this day, and Yozo talks a lot about specifically how he doesn't fit into the Japanese society of his time. Which is why he puts on his clowny persona at school. "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down" so Yozo made his entire persona a clown in school, if he owned it as a joke then well, he was doing it on purpose, he wasn't strange it was a joke. It just became so much more difficult in adulthood, suddenly the joke persona doesn't earn you any accolades. To the point where he would join anyone who would accept him.

I've also commented this on a video that reviews Junji Ito's version and the original book at the same time but these pieces did not ruin me even after learning it was basically a really long suicide note because the concepts described are so foreign and incomprehensible to me (ofc I felt bad because it's a tragic story and a mostly real one at that) that I didn't feel existential dread. I understood what I read, but couldn't get myself in the headspace of someone who thinks such a way and I think that's for the best. It felt like it was something above me and bigger than me.

Lmao I am not the only one who came from bungo stray dogs.

I personally think this man was on the spectrum. Bit the depression he experiences is like reading someone with the same thoughts as me. As someone with aspergers this was just. . . . So heartbreaking but so poignant. Even for today. Honestly, speaking in the depression and anxiety its a realistic take on the thoughts people may go through when experiencing these illnesses. Its like the hardest diary entries you'll ever read but also the most authentic.

I loved this book so fucking much

This book was incredible! So horrifyingly relatable and raw.

"Eat or die, the saying goes, but to me it sounds just like another unpleasant threat."
I love this novel. The extent to which every day necessities come off as an unbearable threat to the narrator really resonates. It is true that this novel outlines the feeling of despair; the despair that comes from who you are. But because this despair is articulated in such a conversational and personal tone, it seems not as an injustice imposed on the narrator (he doesn't seem to think that any one is at fault for his despair).

His description of the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of the servants in his family home comes to mind. He does emphasize that this is the "vilest, cruelest crime" any one can commit against a child. But as Sargeant's quote in the videos suggests, he is unable to engange with and influence the deceitful narratives of life; to which his only solution is to keep the world at bay with his clowning.

As he writes in relation to the sexual abuse:
"If I had formed the habit of telling the truth, I might perhaps have been able confide unabashedly to my father or mother about the crime. But I could not fully understand even my own parents. To appeal for help to any human being, I could expect nothing from that expedient. Supposing I complained to my father or my mother, or to the police, the government, I wondered if in the end, I would not be argued into silence by someone in good graces with the world, by the excuses of which the world approved. It is only too obvious that favoritism inevitably exists. It would have been useless to complain to human beings. So I said nothing of the truth. I felt I had no choice but to endure whatever came my way and go on playing the clown."

In the case of Yozo, I understand him as a character that is unable to make his desires known to the world because he doesn't understand the normative conditions other people make their wishes known through. "But that is precisely what I don't understand. If my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves. Without going mad. Maintaining an interest in political parties. Not yielding to despair. Resolutely pursuing the fight for existence. Can their grieves really be genuine? Am I wrong in thinking that these people have become such complete egoists and have are so convinced of the normality of their way of life, that they have never once doubted themselves? If that is the case, their suffering should be easy to bear. They are the common lot of human beings and perhaps the best one can hope for."
Apart from the blatant narcissism and complete disregard for the legitimate worries of the average person, I think we can discern a personal dispair that is almost impossible to assuage. He often refers to how he accepts almost anything that people offer him. His childhood, apart from his clowning, is also one of giving way to the wishes of others. Perhaps, his kindness and friendliness observed only sparsely because we rarely get to see the perspective of other characters in the novel, is also the wish to serve others. Perhaps, he is so starved for love (he describes clowning as the last quest for love he was to direct at human beings) that he subjugated his wishes and fears to the emotional and societal needs of his family, later the numerous people who would use him to their benefits. And because he couldn't understand the point of these actions and these needs, self-annihilation was the only option he felt was left for him to pursue.

Edit.
I'm not sure about my analysis. Perhaps he just wanted to have his way and if he had been honest about his wishes, he knows very well that he would have faced ridicule for his dreams of becoming a painter (like flat-fish laughed at him). Perhaps he truly didn't care about others and just wanted them to have their way so he could protect his fragile ego from developing. His treatment of the women in the novel is truly abysmal. But I still think I was right about him, not being able to understand the motivations of society. And that is partially the reason for his despair. (SPOILER)The heroine of Dazai's other novel, "The Setting Sun", Kazuko, writes a letter to the debauched artist, Mr. Uehara, who, I believe, have similarities to Dazai himself and Yozo as well. I believe the following quote to some extent sums up an aspect of their characters: "Recently I have come to understand why such things as war, peace, unions, trade, politics exist in the world. I don't suppose you know. That's why you will always be unhappy." (p. 172). Nothing can justify his mistreatment of the people who cared for him nor his apathy towards the needs (political or otherwise) of his fellow man (as long as that of course doesn't entail Japanese imperialism, but his disregard for such ends was never out of any principled considerations). Either way I still feel immensely sorry for him and relate to him on many levels.

I looked this book up because I thought the Anime character Dazai seemed relatable. By your description of the book, I'd say the book is likely even more reliable. Though I don't really care about letting anyone get involved with my problems unless they are trying to help.

I can see many traits, thought processes and signs that Osamu Dazai may have been on the autism spectrum. He doesnt understand social cues and neurotypical behaviour and he constently feels like he is not human since he cant make any connections with anyone and constantly masks himself to try to fit into society. This does lead to a pretty bad autistic burnout and can lead to many severe complications such as depression, anxiety and suicide. This is my take on it because i related to him alot in the book and realised it was due to being autistic and wanted to share my thoughts. Its really sad he seemed like he would have had a succesfull and fulfilling life if he had access to mental health services and awarness of neurodivergencies and others because he is extremely talented as proven by this book. I dont like how they turned him into a satire character in an anime. It seems like an insult to the author and its gross to see because despite the name of his book he very much was a human being like the rest of us. The only good thing about the anime is that it has made the book more popular as it deserves and it spreads awarness on the real Osamu's life .Im sorry to Osamu Dazai that you had such a difficult life and i hope you are finally at peace R.I.P Osamu Dazai

I was on the train for 12 hours and I remembered that I had this book in my luggage (a friend of mine knows I love reading and gave it to me on my bday) and I decided to read it. It’s a masterpiece. A sad one needless to say. I just wanna go back in time and hug Osamu Dazai

Hey, so I bought this book a short while ago because I happened to see it in passing and had heard it was good. Problem is, now that I know a little more about it's nature, I'm too scared to read it.

I've only recently started seeing improvement in my mental health, having started seeing a professional about 6 months ago, I had been suffering from depression and anxiety to the point that I felt suicidal. Thankfully, I'm no longer as bad, though the thought crosses my mind here and there. I'm certainly at the point that I'm crawling out of whatever hole I've been in, but I still have some way to go. What I'm scared of, is that if I read this book it might make me fall back in. It's like this daunting thing sitting on my shelf that I'm drawn to yet scared of.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Will I be okay to read it? I want to, I mean I bought it and now I'm curious, but it's not worth risking my mental health for at the moment if it might negatively effect me. I know that I'll likely relate heavily to the main character, but I don't know if that would be a good or bad thing for me since I'm trying to get out of that kind of mindset, not be reminded of it. I just really don't know, any advice would be appreciated because I don't particularly want to leave it staring at me while collecting dust...

I find it funny that for me, this all started with the anime "Bungo stray dogs" which opened me up to so many potential books I want to read. And the first one I chose was No Longer Human. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into until I started the book, and I'm glad I did. The sections mentioning his social anxiety might be one the most relatable moments compared to any other book I've read. Can't wait to get into the other authors' famous works!

This book is seriously wrenching. I read it in one day. Brought tears to my eyes, "He was an angel."

Wearing that mask in the woods to signal my tribe that I'm down

I finished this in a day this book was that good. Wow. To say this book is depressing doesn't just cut it... it's so well written. When I recommend this to my friends, I just say that they need to read it. It hit home and hearing your point of view was so helpful too. I'm currently reading "The setting sun" by Dazai. If you haven't made a video plz can you do one. I started it right after I finished "No longer Human" I love love his writing. I'm getting more of his books from New Editions. I also have "Schoolgirl" It's a novella. I'll read it after I finish the setting sun.

really loved the description of dazai and mishima’s meeting.

I started reading this book last week and just finished it, and I’d like to add that it kind of alludes to the Japanese value of keeping these kinds of things to yourself (which is still one that the Japanese stand behind to this day.)
It’s tragic because that value plays out a lot better in Yozo’s head but it ends up causing more mess for the people around him, which drives him slowly into an even deeper degradation.
What a great book. I’m also turning 27 in a couple days, and the final sentences in the book hit pretty close to home.

My favorite line from this book is "What is society but an individual." I am someone who suffers from social anxiety and hearing that line helped me get a new perspective. It felt calming to finally understand that not everyone is looking at me with a magnifying glass. Society is made up of the people around you, the ones you interact with, not the whole globe.