.png) Cover of first edition | |
| Author | Osamu Dazai |
|---|---|
| Original title | 人間失格 |
| Translator |
|
| Language | Japanese |
| Publisher | Chikuma Shobō |
Publication date | 1948 |
| Publication place | Japan |
Published in English | 1958 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | A Cherry |
| Followed by | Goodbye |
No Longer Human (Japanese: 人間失格, Hepburn: Ningen Shikkaku), also translated as A Shameful Life, is a 1948 novel by Japanese author Osamu Dazai. It tells the story of a troubled man incapable of revealing his true self to others, and who, instead, maintains a façade of hollow jocularity, later turning to a life of alcoholism and drug abuse before his final disappearance. The original title translates as "Disqualified as a human being"[1] or "A failed human".[2] The book was published one month after Dazai's suicide at the age of 38.[2] No Longer Human is considered a classic of postwar Japanese literature[3] and Dazai's masterpiece.[4] It enjoys considerable popularity among younger readers[5] and ranks as the second best-selling novel by publishing house Shinchōsha, behind Sōseki Natsume's Kokoro.[5]
- ^ Dazai, Osamu (1948). No Longer Human. Translated by Keene, Donald. Norfolk, Connecticut: New Directions Publishing.
- ^ a b Dazai, Osamu (2023). A Shameful Life. Translated by Gibeau, Mark. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press.
- ^ The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press. 2005. p. 660.
- ^ "Takeshi Obata Illustrates Cover for Best-Selling Japanese Novel". ComiPress. August 22, 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ a b "没後７０年、作家・太宰治を生んだ「三つの空白期」". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 6 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2023.