April 17, 2025

Nothing of value to be found

The review contains spoilers. Only read it after finishing the book.

I was drawn in by the title, and the fact that it seems to be a very popular novel so I came in with pretty high expectations but in the end, there wasn't anything worth reading

The story takes the form of a diary describing moments Dazai thought to be of note throughout his life in chronological order. Reading through them you might assume that at some point it might culminate into a grand twist that justifies it's existence but non of that is anywhere to be found.

I came in expecting the writing of someone who doesn't fit into society. Someone that is different from the people around him and could never function in the strict society of Japan.

Instead, what I found was a normal person no different than anyone else, who was simply too weak-willed to make any good choices in his life. The only reason his life turned out as badly as it did is solely due to his own choices and actions.

I agree with the title of 人間失格 as Dazai is a failure as a human being, that only brought misfortune to the people around him (the worst being, not defending his wife, and running away instead). However, unlike the opinion of the analysis that came at the end of the copy I had, I don't believe him to be any more special (or inherently different) than anyone else. He isn't some sort of messiah that saw the human society for what it is, instead he is a coward that ran away at every possible moment, and never managed to grow up from being a frightened child.

I see the book as an attempt to justify his suicide—his final act of running away—by pretending he had it harder than everyone else, even though he brought most of the hurdles upon himself. Or perhaps to convince himself he was simply different from everyone else, as suggested early on with lines like, “I simply didn’t feel hunger.”

I think his daughter saw him for who he really was, and her analysis was a great closure to the story. His claim of not feeling hunger is likely a lie. He may have had good intentions, and perhaps there was kindness in him, but most of the time, those intentions resulted in pain for the people who cared about him.

In the end, the only value this novel holds is as a glimpse into what happens when someone lives a life with absolutely no control over their actions. I see no reason for its popularity, and if I were to describe it in one word, it would certainly be 下らない.

Gradings:6
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Eiden graded
on April 17, 2025
Eiden graded
on April 17, 2025
harder than化物語 (上)L36
Eiden graded
on April 17, 2025
Eiden graded
on April 17, 2025
Eiden graded
on April 17, 2025