Book Review: Exploring the Lifelong Impact of Trauma

by Bhone Kyaw

When I reached the middle of Osamu Dazai’s novel ‘No Longer Human,’ I was struck by how much influence a person’s childhood can have on their identity as an adult. Yozo Oba, the protagonist, demonstrates that.   From a young age, the author depicts Yozo as suffering from depression, a direct consequence of the sexual abuse he suffered from at the hands of his family’s servants.