However, he keeps silent and bottles up his pain. He recounts his successful clowning at school, but at home he is sexually abused by the house servants. His stark alienation causes him to put on a mask and fabricate a “clown” persona to blend in with society.

Since birth, Yozo has perceived himself as an outcast, unable to understand basic human emotions and motivations. The story of No Longer Human unfolds through 3 memoranda, or “notebooks”, that trace the main character Yozo Oba’s descent down a bottomless spiral of depression, shame, and self-destruction. And that’s how meaningful transformations are made. But while it brought me more solace than a therapist ever could, it also forced me to confront the side of myself I didn’t want to see. When I read No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai this week, I felt seen like never before. As someone with wounds still fresh from battling inner demons-i t makes me feel seen.

Most of all, their portrayal of mental health is so devastatingly relatable. Their stories are raw and confessional, with jagged edges and ripped seams gleaming in unabashed glory. It’s like bleeding on paper: they have no trouble laying their heart bare. I think that quality can be attributed to how Asian writers infuse their narratives with the sheerest transparency. Yes, it all crushes my soul to pieces (I have to recuperate by watching cat videos), but beneath the darkness I find it to be deeply therapeutic. The week prior, I read The Seventh Day by Yu Hua, a poignant tale about a man navigating the afterlife on the backdrop of a destructive, rapidly modernizing China. Last week, I finished A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro, a story retracing the postwar memories of a mother dwelling on her daughter’s recent suicide. I am unashamed to say that, these days, I’ve been overindulging myself in depressing East Asian literature. Though originally published in 1948, the novel’s raw portrait of mental health and the struggle to fit in remains just as relevant in today’s society. Osamu Dazai’s ‘No Longer Human’ is a timeless modern classic, ranking as the second best-selling novel of all time in Japan.

No more human