190,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Come visit us in-store this weekend! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

No Longer Human

By Osamu Dazai
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.95 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 235,674 ratings, 29,735 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai delves into the life of a man named Ōba Yōzō who struggles to express his true self, masking his alienation with humour and deceit. The novel explores themes of existential despair as it chronicles his descent into a life devoid of genuine connection, resulting in deep feelings of isolation and disconnection from society. It's a powerful reflection on human vulnerability and identity crisis.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2700
Elsewhere:
$2899
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are intrigued by deeply introspective narratives that explore the complexities of human identity and the struggle to find authenticity in a conformist society. It will appeal to you if you appreciate poignant examinations of alienation and the human condition through the eyes of a compelling, flawed protagonist.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The poignant and fascinating story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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. Oba Yozo's 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.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai is often seen as a timeless exploration of isolation and identity, maintaining a poignant relevance even after seventy-five years. Reviewers note its resonance with contemporary cultural moods, describing Dazai's writing as introspective and revealing, often striking a nerve with readers due to its unflinching honesty. The book is acclaimed for its incisive portrayal of the human psyche, leaving an indelible mark on those who delve into its introspective narrative.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780811204811

Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 1973

Country: United States

Imprint: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Contributors:

  • Translated by Donald Keene
  • Translated by Donald Keene
  • Translated by Donald Keene

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 248g

Pages: 176

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Best Selling Books Fiction General Fiction Gifts $20-$50 In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction New Zealand's Best Selling Books Osamu Dazai

About the Author

Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) was a 20th century Japanese novelist.

Also by Osamu Dazai

View all
  • No Longer Human
    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...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Hardback
    $4799
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • No One Knows
    No one really understands how we suffer. One day, when we’re adults, we may come to recall this suffering, this misery, as silly and laughable, but how are we to get through the long, hateful period until then? No one bothers to teach us that. Osamu Dazai was a master raconteur who plumbed, in an addictive, easy style, the absurd...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Self-Portraits
    "Art dies the moment it acquires authority." So said Japan's quintessential rebel writer Osamu Dazai, who, disgusted with the hypocrisy of every kind of establishment, from the nation's obsolete aristocracy to its posturing, warmongering generals, went his own way, even when that meant his death—and the death of others. Faced with pressure to conform, he declared his individuality to the...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Flowers of Buffoonery
    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,...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Beggar Student
    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...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Setting Sun
    The Setting Sun is set in the early postwar years, exploring the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society.
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • The Setting Sun
    This powerful novel of a nation in social and moral crisis was first published by New Directions in 1956. Set in the early postwar years, The Setting Sun probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society. The influence of Osamu Dazai's novel has made "people of the setting sun" a permanent...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Hardback
    $4799
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • No Longer Human
    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,...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $4600
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • On Sale
    20% off
    Osamu Dazai's The Setting Sun
    A classic of Japanese literature, brought to life in manga for the first time! This is the first manga edition in English of The Setting Sun, Osamu Dazai's classic novel, often considered his masterpiece. Set in the aftermath of World War Two, this is the story of Kazuko, a strong-willed young woman from an aristocratic family that has fallen into...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $2400
    Usually:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Real Osamu Dazai
    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 Best-known for his novels No Longer Human and The Setting Sun, Dazai was also an acclaimed writer of short stories, experimenting with a wide variety of styles and...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Early Light
    Early Light offers three very different aspects of Osamu Dazai's genius. The title story relates his misadventures as a drinker and a family man during the terrible fire bombings of Tokyo at the end of WWII. Having lost their own home, he and his wife flee with a new baby boy and their little girl to relatives in Kofu, only...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Hardback
    $3399
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • A Shameful Life
    Osamu Dazai is one of the most famous—and infamous—writers of 20th-century Japan. A Shameful Life (Ningen shikkaku) is his final published work and has become a bestselling classic for its depiction of the tortured struggle of a young man to survive in a world that he cannot comprehend. Paralleling the life and death of Dazai himself, the delicate weaving of...
    By Osamu Dazai
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    A Court of Splintered Harmony
    Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.What was broken will be remade.Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories,...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Threshing Day
    The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza.    Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing and In the...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Hardback
    $6999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Assassin’s Apprentice
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...
    By Robin Hobb
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
    All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." —USA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $9999
    Elsewhere:
    $12495
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    John of John
    The stunning new novel from the Booker Prize-winning, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo.'John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed' - Colm Tóibín'To read John of John is to move to...
    By Douglas Stuart
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Chain Reaction
    Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! ‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .’ Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...
    By Lee Child and Andrew Child
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin
    The third instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the gripping third book of the ACOTAR series, Feyre Archeron faces the ultimate battle for her world. Having returned to the Spring Court, she is determined to gather...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    The Things We Never Say
    Internationally bestselling and prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident in a man's life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, and free will in a capsizing world. Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a...
    By Elizabeth Strout
    Hardback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all