No Longer Human: A New Translation
Osamu Dazai
Jul 2025 · Tuttle Publishing · Narrated by Craig Abbott
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3 hr 41 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
A dark literary cult classic about alienation, self-destruction, and not fitting in.
A timeless story of isolation and inner torment, Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human follows Yozo Oba, a man who hides behind laughter while drifting toward self-destruction. Based on Dazai's own life and newly translated by award-winning translator Juliet Winters Carpenter, this modern classic explores what it means to feel disconnected from humanity. Deeply introspective, emotionally raw, and painfully honest, it continues to resonate with listeners today—especially fans of dark literary fiction and contemporary Japanese literature.
A timeless story of isolation and inner torment, Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human follows Yozo Oba, a man who hides behind laughter while drifting toward self-destruction. Based on Dazai's own life and newly translated by award-winning translator Juliet Winters Carpenter, this modern classic explores what it means to feel disconnected from humanity. Deeply introspective, emotionally raw, and painfully honest, it continues to resonate with listeners today—especially fans of dark literary fiction and contemporary Japanese literature.
A dark literary cult classic about alienation, self-destruction, and not fitting in.
A timeless story of isolation and inner torment, Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human follows Yozo Oba, a man who hides behind laughter while drifting toward self-destruction. Based on Dazai's own life and newly transl...
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February 18, 2026
good night me read
About the author
Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) was the pen name of Shuji Tsushima, the tenth of eleven children born to a wealthy landowner and politician in the far north of Japan. Dazai studied French literature at the University of Tokyo, but never received a degree. He first attracted attention in 1933 when magazines began to publish his work. Between 1930 and 1937, he made three suicide attempts, a subject he deals with in many of his short stories. Despite his troubled life and rebellious spirit, Dazai wrote in simple and colloquial style, conveying his personal torments through literature. Dazai's life ended early in a double suicide with a married lover.
Juliet Winters Carpenter is an award-winning American translator of modern Japanese fiction. Born in Ann Arbor, Carpenter studied Japanese at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. She is Professor Emeritas at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 1980 and 2014-2015. In 2022 she was awarded the Lindsay and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize for a lifetime of achievement as a translator of modern Japanese literature. She and her husband live on Whidbey Island in Washington State with two of their sons and their dog, Winter.
Craig Abbott is a talented narrator with a thoughtful, soothing style. He has narrated many audiobooks in a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction genres. When not narrating, you will find him reading or listening to books, hiking or biking, and spending time with family, friends, and soon-to-be friends.
Juliet Winters Carpenter is an award-winning American translator of modern Japanese fiction. Born in Ann Arbor, Carpenter studied Japanese at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. She is Professor Emeritas at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 1980 and 2014-2015. In 2022 she was awarded the Lindsay and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize for a lifetime of achievement as a translator of modern Japanese literature. She and her husband live on Whidbey Island in Washington State with two of their sons and their dog, Winter.
Craig Abbott is a talented narrator with a thoughtful, soothing style. He has narrated many audiobooks in a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction genres. When not narrating, you will find him reading or listening to books, hiking or biking, and spending time with family, friends, and soon-to-be friends.
Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) was the pen name of Shuji Tsushima, the tenth of eleven children born to a wealthy landowner and politician in the far north of Japan. Dazai studied French literature at the University of Tokyo, but never received a degree. He first attracted attention in 1933 when magazin...
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