For me, true horror, the darkest terror imaginable, exists in our own minds. Put me up against a ghost, a vampire, a werewolf, or even a bloke wearing a mask of other people’s skin with chainsaw, and I’m pretty much happy to take my chances, but allow the darkest thoughts to take over, to oppress my mind, to cripple my existence, and that is something I do fear.
No Longer Human is bleak. I mean, it’s really fucking bleak. However, the narrative voice has enough humanity to give it the lightest touch of humour. I’m not talking laughs or jokes; it’s pitch dark humour which hints more at a resignation to the fact of being powerless than an ability to use humour as a coping mechanism.
The book takes the form of three notebooks written by Yozo. The first address his inability to understand humanity during his early youth, the second concerns his school and university years, much of which hinges on control (both his control over others and their control over him), and the third addresses his attempts to create a normal life while battling inner demons and a way of thinking which challenges convention at every turn.
If you want jump scares, axe murders, or flesh-eating entities, this book won’t be for you, but if you crave something soul-smotheringly haunting, told with a dark and twisted lyrical beauty, then I would very much recommend this!