The story of a young man who has felt since childhood utterly alien from others around him. Since that time he has learned to put on a face to hide his alienation. He feels incapable of belonging to the human society, especially so by society's refusal to take him seriously. He then follows a descent into alcohol, drugs, & suicide ...

《人间失格》是日本著名小说家太宰治最具影响力的小说作品，同时也是糸色望（注：动漫《再见！绝望先生》的主角）老师日常生活必备的读物之一。另外在日本轻小说《文学少女》第一卷中被大量提及。《人间失格》（又名《丧失为人的资格》）发表于1948年，是一部自传体的小说，纤细的自传体中透露出极致的颓废，毁灭式的绝笔之作。太宰治巧妙地将自己的人生与思想，隐藏于主角叶藏的人生遭遇，藉由叶藏的独白，窥探太宰治的内心世界，一个“充满了可耻的一生”。在发表这部作品的同年，太宰治就自杀身亡。