No Longer Human Audiobook By Osamu Dazai cover art

No Longer Human

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No Longer Human

By: Osamu Dazai
Narrated by: David Shih
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"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. Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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)
Profound Exploration • Important Mental Health • Great Story • Tragic Storytelling • Thought-provoking Narrative
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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

It was interesting listening to

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

Life be like that

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

The life of someone misunderstood

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An interesting reflection on the human mind, self-loathing, and how it influences interactions. It's subtle, at times comical, and of course dark. Over-thinking, over-analyzing until all human connections that present themselves are ruined or dismissed out of fear of what lies in the hearts of others.

A view into the human condition

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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.

Not sure if I’d recommend

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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.

Like looking into a muddy mirror.

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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.

Intriguing postwar Japanese literature

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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.

An arrow pointing towards sadness

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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.

No longer human review

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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!

The Deception of Self-Perception

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