![]() Rather than feel any sense of actual love, Yozo merely views the women in his life as means to an end. This dark prediction becomes reality when his traits as a con artist lead him down a dark path of womanizing, drinking, and crime. In his words, “Something impure, dark, reeking of the shady character always hovers above me.” One day, one of his peers makes a prophecy that Yozo will break many hearts. Despite his best efforts, he continues to struggle with having very dark thoughts. He masks his own dark thoughts by acting as an entertainer at both home and school. In order to cope, Yozo creates a false persona of a clown. ![]() Although Yozo is described as handsome and clearly has an intelligent mind, his inability to connect with others means he has no real sense of identity or a goal in life. Yozo feels disconnected from humanity in general, and possibly struggles with some neurodivergent traits, leading him to struggle with understanding the motivations and actions of others. Beginning in childhood, he chronicles his life as a child of a wealthy family in Japan under a father who is extremely remote. Following this brief prologue, the novel is then told through these notebooks in the first-person perspective of Yozo. The narrator comments on how there seems to be something very off about the photos of Yozo, akin to someone being fake, or wearing a mask. Interestingly, the literal translation of the title is “Disqualified as a Human Being.” The book begins with an unnamed narrator finding three notebooks with accompanying photos written by one Oba Yozo. Yozo, the novel’s protagonist, shared in his creator’s self-view that he never fit into society. The cover of my copy is an accurate one, illustrating a vague humanoid shape without any clear idea of who we are looking at. No Longer Human (1948) by Osamu Dazai (translated by Donald Keene), Photo Credit: Natalie Getter However, reading this work was an overall enriching experience as it helped me to recognize the beauty and the light within my own life. ![]() For several reasons, I had a difficult time finishing this novel, which manages to explore difficult themes such as mental illness, addiction, suicide, and alienation. Although a work of fiction, it is clearly a semi-autobiographical glimpse into one of the most tortured and brilliant minds to have ever existed. No Longer Human is considered the author’s masterpiece and ranks as the second highest selling novel in Japan. This tragedy marks the end of a lifelong battle with depression, during a time and in a society where proper help could not be found. An investigation into the deaths led to the speculation that moments before his death, Dazai felt an obsession with life. Their bodies would not be discovered until six days later, which would mark the author’s 39th birthday. On June 13, 1948, Japanese author Osamu Dazai and his lover Tomie committed suicide by drowning themselves in the rain-swollen Tamagawa Canal near his house. ![]()
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