
No Longer Human
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Narrated by:
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David Shih
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By:
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Osamu Dazai
About this listen
"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.
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-
-
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-
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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)
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
No Longer Human (1948, Ningen Shikkaku / A Shameful Life / Confessions of a Faulty Man) was an attack on the traditions of Japan, capturing the postwar crisis of Japanese cultural identity. Framed by an epilogue and prologue, the story is told in the form three notebooks left by Ōba Yōzō, whose calm exterior hides his tormented soul. Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan.
-
-
good
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By: Osamu Dazai
-
The Setting Sun
- New Directions Book
- By: Osamu Dazai
- Narrated by: June Angela
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Set in the early postwar years, it probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society. Ozamu Dazai died, a suicide, in 1948. But the influence of his book has made "people of the setting sun" a permanent part of the Japanese language, and his heroine, Kazuko, a young aristocrat who deliberately abandons her class, a symbol of the anomie which pervades so much of the modern world.
-
-
MORE OSAMU DAZAI TRANSLATIONS PLEASE!!!!!
- By Lucky on 10-19-22
By: Osamu Dazai
-
The Flowers of Buffoonery
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- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
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- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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The Flowers of Buffoonery opens in a seaside sanitarium where Yozo Oba—the narrator of No Longer Human at a younger age—is being kept after a failed suicide attempt. While he is convalescing, his friends and family visit him, and other patients and nurses drift in and out of his room. Against this dispiriting backdrop, everyone tries to maintain a lighthearted, even clownish atmosphere: playing cards, smoking cigarettes, vying for attention, cracking jokes, and trying to make each other laugh.
-
-
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-
Schoolgirl
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- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
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Story
Essentially the start of Dazai's career, Schoolgirl gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language. Now it illuminates the prevalent social structures of a lost time, as well as the struggle of the individual against them—a theme that occupied Dazai's life both personally and professionally. This new translation preserves the playful language of the original and offers the listener a new window into the mind of one of the greatest Japanese authors of the 20th century.
-
-
Short and introspective
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By: Osamu Dazai, and others
-
Self-Portraits
- Stories
- By: Osamu Dazai
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these short stories, collected and translated by Ralph McCarthy, we can see just how closely Dazai’s life mirrored his art, and vice versa, as the writer/narrator falls from grace, rises to fame, and falls again. Addiction, debt, shame, and despair dogged Dazai until his self-inflicted death, and yet despite all the lies and deception he resorted to in life, there is an almost fanatical honesty to his writing.
By: Osamu Dazai
-
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A fictional writer in his thirties named Osamu Dazai has just mailed his publisher an awful manuscript, filling him with dread and shame. Wandering along a river in a nearby park in suburban Tokyo, he meets a high-school dropout and the two get into an intellectual spat. Eventually, Dazai finds himself agreeing to perform in the boy’s place that very night as the live narrator of a film screening…
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The subject of Kokoro, which can be translated as 'the heart of things' or as 'feeling,' is the delicate matter of the contrast between the meanings the various parties of a relationship attach to it. In the course of this exploration, Soseki brilliantly describes different levels of friendship, family relationships, and the devices by which men attempt to escape from their fundamental loneliness. The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight.
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The Heart Of Things, Relationships & Feelings
- By Sara on 04-27-15
By: Natsume Soseki
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Rashomon
- By: Akutagawa Ryunosuke
- Narrated by: Jesús Brotóns
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Una de las obras capitales del autor japonés Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, de la cual el director Akira Kurosawa tomó varios detalles a la hora de adaptar su película homónima, narra el encuentro de un sirviente humilde que acaba de ser despedido por su señor y una anciana pícara que roba el pelo de los cadáveres y vende carne de serpiente haciéndola pasar por pescado. El cuento, de final inesperado, supone una reflexión sobre los límites de la moral que sacudió a los lectores de la revista universitaria Teikoku Bungaku (Literatura imperial), donde fue publicada por primera vez.
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Then the Fish Swallowed Him
- A Novel
- By: Amir Ahmadi Arian
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Yunus Turabi, a bus driver in Tehran, leads an unremarkable life. A solitary man since the unexpected deaths of his father and mother years ago, he is decidedly apolitical - even during the driver’s strike and its bloody end. But everyone has their breaking point, and Yunus has reached his.
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The Wrong Man
- By David on 04-24-21
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The Selfless Act of Breathing
- A Novel
- By: JJ Bola
- Narrated by: Oseloka Obi
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Kabongo is a British Congolese teacher living in London and living the dream: he’s beloved by his students, popular with his coworkers, and adored by his proud mother who emigrated from the Congo to the UK in search of a better life. But when he suffers a devastating loss, his life is thrown into a tailspin. As he struggles to find a way forward, memories of his fathers’ violent death, the weight of refugeehood, and an increasing sense of dread threaten everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.
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Deep breath…Inhale…exhale
- By Michael Urquizu on 12-15-22
By: JJ Bola
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The Tatami Time Machine Blues
- A Novel
- By: Tomihiko Morimi
- Narrated by: Kurt Kanazawa
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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During a scorching August in Kyoto, our protagonist and his worst friend, Ozu, are locked in a glaring contest in a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat room. Ozu has spilled Coke on the air conditioner’s remote control—the only AC in Shimogamo Yusuisuiso, their famously shabby sweatbox of an apartment building. Vengeful and despairing, our protagonist discusses countermeasures with his secret crush, the reliably blunt Akashi, when Tamura, a strange young man with a bad haircut, appears.
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Great but not the same
- By Xan Reyna on 11-22-23
By: Tomihiko Morimi
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The Lost Shtetl
- A Novel
- By: Max Gross
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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For decades, the tiny Jewish shtetl of Kreskol existed in happy isolation, virtually untouched and unchanged. Spared by the Holocaust and the Cold War, its residents enjoyed remarkable peace. It missed out on cars, and electricity, and the internet, and indoor plumbing. But when a marriage dispute spins out of control, the whole town comes crashing into the 21st century.
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A very touching story
- By yaelleah on 03-07-21
By: Max Gross
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This Is the Voice
- By: John Colapinto
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, John Colapinto
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s no shortage of books about public speaking or language or song. But until now, there has been no book about the miracle that underlies them all - the human voice itself. Beginning with the novel - and compelling - argument that our ability to speak is what made us the planet’s dominant species, John Colapinto guides us from the voice’s beginnings in lungfish millions of years ago to its culmination in the talent of Pavoratti, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Beyoncé - and each of us, every day.
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Strange choice to become political
- By D & C Kochersberger on 01-27-21
By: John Colapinto
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The New Life
- A Novel
- By: Tom Crewe
- Narrated by: Freddie Fox
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1894, John Addington and Henry Ellis begin writing a book arguing that homosexuality, which is a crime at the time, is a natural, harmless variation of human sexuality. Though they have never met, John and Henry both live in London with their wives, Catherine and Edith, and in each marriage, there is a third party: John has a lover, a working-class man named Frank, and Edith spends almost as much time with her friend Angelica as she does with Henry.
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Brilliant historical fiction
- By Shrewsie Shrew on 01-15-23
By: Tom Crewe
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Hunger
- By: Knut Hamsun
- Narrated by: Daniel Allen
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Explore the human psyche's extremes in Knut Hamsun's renowned novel, "Hunger." Set in 19th-century Oslo, this modernist masterpiece follows a starving artist's struggle for survival and self-expression. The novel intricately portrays the protagonist's inner turmoil, balancing between sanity and madness, as he wanders through the city's streets, battling hunger and pursuing his artistic vision.
By: Knut Hamsun
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VenCo
- A Novel
- By: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Michelle St. John
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Métis millennial Lucky St. James is barely hanging on when she learns she’ll be evicted from the tiny Toronto apartment she shares with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella. But then one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. She burrows through a wall to find a tarnished silver spoon, humming with otherworldly energy, etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM.
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Can I please live in this book?
- By Melanie on 02-23-23
By: Cherie Dimaline
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The Time Has Come
- A Novel
- By: Will Leitch
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo, Jane Oppenheimer
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Lindbergh’s Pharmacy is an Athens, Georgia, institution—the type of beloved mom and pop shop that once dotted every American town but has mostly disappeared. But Lindbergh’s has recently become the object of attention of a local fourth grade teacher Tina Lamm (“Ms. Lamm to my students”). Tina is certain something very, very bad is happening behind its famous black door and she intends to do something about it. Her suspicions—and the drastic actions she plans—are the unlikely glue that will connect her to a group of six employees and customers inside the pharmacy one hot Georgia evening.
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the characters were strong, well-developed
- By jeri gragg on 02-04-24
By: Will Leitch
What listeners say about No Longer Human
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- Rudy
- 04-08-25
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.
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- Bren
- 07-11-24
The life of someone misunderstood
wow. this was a dreadful recount of someone who had live with so much disdain for themself.
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- Fey Sun
- 01-09-25
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- ncnickle
- 01-02-25
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.
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- Steve V
- 03-21-25
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.
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- Dominik Kapiti
- 03-28-24
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!
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- Anonymous User
- 07-09-24
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.
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- Lynette Baker
- 07-19-24
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-26-25
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.
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- Owen
- 08-28-24
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
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1 person found this helpful