How does a classic work of Japanese culture rise to legend in the world of manga? What makes this wonderful book a classic read that concerns everyone? No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, the second novel of the leading post-war Japanese author, is the shocking and captivating story of a young man struggling to find his place in a world he doesn't understand.
Presenting himself as a failure, the hero strives to live a normal life, even when he feels incapable of understanding human beings. Yōzō's attempts to reconcile with the world around him begin in his childhood and ultimately lead to a failed suicide attempt after his coming of age. Chronicling the occasional harshness of life and the fleeting moments of human connection and tenderness, he will say, "I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to live as a human being."
No Longer Human is not an optimistic book, but it does not leave the aftertaste of pessimism either. It is a deeply moving novel, even uplifting. To know what despair means and to overcome it with the means at your disposal – imagination was Dazai's only weapon – is undeniably a unique gift.
To clash with a hostile world while stubbornly seeking your place in it – this explains everything about its appeal to the youth. "The fear some people have of other human beings is so grim that they long to see with their own eyes monsters or even more horrific entities." "The weak fear happiness itself. They could be hurt even by a cotton ball. Sometimes they are hurt even by happiness." "Of all the people I have ever met, this wretched one, Tsuneko, was the only one I truly loved."
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