No Longer Human

Three notebooks, found with a few photographs, tell the life of Ōba Yōzō from childhood on. Convinced early that he understands nothing of other people, he plays the clown so that no one will guess his fear, and takes no rest from the act. As a student in Tokyo he drifts into drink, affairs and clandestine politics, judging himself more harshly than anyone else. The book explores shame, imposture and the impossibility of joining the others. Dazai, who finished it shortly before his death, writes a confession that offers no defence.