A review by elwirax
The Life of a Stupid Man by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


"At some point he had lost interest in life. ‘I do have the will to create, though.’ 
 ‘But surely the will to create is a form of the will to live … ?’"

"The higher he flew, the farther below him sank the joys and sorrows of a life bathed in the light of intellect."

Reading this novella was like reading a collaboration between authors like Poe and Whitman in terms of topics and themes discussed (death/life, regret and nature). Throughout, Akutagawa references many Western authors, suggesting he was fascinated by the ideas these authors presented, while also doing so in his own way. The Life of a Stupid Man had an interesting writing style, it often came across as stream of consciousness yet, read like poetry at times. I liked his use of creative non-fiction that added a sense of depth to these vignettes.

In a Bamboo Grove  3.5/5
An interesting exploration of human nature and the perception of reality. Through the correspondences, what is essentially a simple story gets twisted based on each characters perspective, it becomes difficult to discern who is lying and who isn't. In this story Akutagawa very much scorns/moralises society and people while also commenting on our hypocrisy as humans. 

"When I kill a man, I do it with my sword, but people like you don’t use swords. You gentlemen kill with your power, with your money, and sometimes just with your words: you tell people you’re doing them a favor. True, no blood flows, the man is still alive, but you’ve killed him all the same. I don’t know whose sin is greater – yours or mine."
 

Death Register  3.5/5
An autobiographical account of the authors early life in which many of his closest relatives passed away. From this story it was clear that his mother wasn't a prominent figure in his life and wasted away in front of him. Akutagawa was scared of becoming mentally ill like his mum and this is very much evident in this section of the novella as well as in The Life of a Stupid Man.

The Life of a Stupid Man  4/5
Akutagawa condensed many details of his most important memories into a few lines. These 51 vignettes were full of self loathing, his hatred of society, the evils of capitalism and the loneliness of the intellectual. Given that this is one of the author's final pieces of work before he committed suicide it makes it that more heart breaking. 

Overall this was a very interesting read. Easy to follow and offered insightful snapshots into the life of an artist and the struggle with mental illness. While it feels wrong to rate someone's difficult life story, I have done so objectively.
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