Overview

'Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment and with the inner lives of teenagers of all eras.' — Andrew Martin, The New York Times 'A journey to hell with Osamu Dazai, Japan's ultimate bad boy novelist' — Damian Flanagan, The Japan Times No Longer Human is the story of Yozo Oba, who, from early childhood, finds it impossible to form meaningful relationships with family or friends. As a child he copes by acting the fool — mocking himself while entertaining others; as an adult he turns to alcohol, sex and drugs, which lead to his eventual self-destruction. In this novel, based closely on his own life, Dazai skillfully leads the reader to sympathize deeply with Oba. Although the book was published in 1948, the timeless and universal themes of social alienation, failure, and one man's inner torture at his inability to feel like a normal human still resonate with young people everywhere, making an enduring classic. After Soseki Natsume, Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) is Japan's most famous writer. Dazai is enjoying a surge in popularity among young people today thanks to the success of the recent manga, anime and film series Bungo Stray Dogs, whose protagonist, a detective named Osamu Dazai, is based on the real-life author.

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"Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment.--Andrew Martin ""The New York Times"" From the point of view of wholesome common sense, Dazai's writings may be regarded as the soliloquies of a deviant.--Yasunari Kawabata What I despise about Dazai is that he exposes precisely those things in myself that I most want to hide.--Yukio Mishima No Longer Human is his masterpiece, though all his work is worthy. Dazai was an aristocratic tramp, a self described delinquent, yet he wrote with the forbearance of a fasting scribe.--Patit Smith"

"""Today, such a writer might be castigated, condemnedN and turned into an instant pariah: Perhaps his books would be taken from bookshops. Yet when Osamu Dazai's short, electrifying novel, ""Ningen Shikkaku"" (No Longer Human) was published in 1948, it triggered a huge ""Dazai Boom.""…"" --Damian Flanagan, The Japan Times: ""A journey to hell with Osamu Dazai, Japan's ultimate bad boy novelist"" ""Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment…and with the inner lives of teenagers of all eras."" -- Andrew Martin, The New York Times"

"""Today, such a writer might be castigated, condemned and turned into an instant pariah: Perhaps his books would be taken from bookshops. Yet when Osamu Dazai's short, electrifying novel, ""Ningen Shikkaku"" (No Longer Human) was published in 1948, it triggered a huge ""Dazai Boom.""…"" --Damian Flanagan, The Japan Times: ""A journey to hell with Osamu Dazai, Japan's ultimate bad boy novelist"" ""Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment…and with the inner lives of teenagers of all eras."" -- Andrew Martin, The New York Times The Cult Classic That Captures the Stress of Social Alienation… The Japanese novelist Osamu Dazai wrote, better than almost anyone, about the thin line between isolation and belonging."" --Jane Yong Kim, The Atlantic"

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