No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazal

The protagonist of Osamu Dazai's In No Longer Human portraying himself throughout the book as a failure to society. He narrates himself to having a seemingly normal life even though he doesn't understand the phenomena of what it feels like to be a real human. Throughout his early childhood and high school, he becomes a "clown" to mask the feeling like he’s an alien compared to everyone around him, leading to a failed suicide attempt as an adult. The book goes on to all the terrible actions he ends up committing because of his feelings and never reaching out to anyone when in need.

No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazal has changed my definition of what it feels like to be depressed. As generation z’s culture continues to grow, we all use the word depression lighty and have forgotten what it really feels like to have depression. What the man experiences and what I experienced reading this book was horrifying and saddinging to say the least. I have never been so moved and educated by a novel in my life and feel as if I know the character on such a personal level, maybe even too personal. I have never wanted to cry and give a man a hug so bad in my life and because of the fact that this novel is based on notebook pages the author found one day makes it even more emotional.

Reviewed by Ariana G., Grade 11

Montrose Library