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Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'
Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
7 reviews
wundini's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Read it with great interest and joy. Some of the stories I would classify as masterpieces, that are unforgettable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Death
sapphic_shroom's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Somehow the hardest books to write reviews for are the ones I love the most. Often this is because I feel like I can never do them justice, no matter how I try to present them and explain why they impacted me so much.
If you're a lover of short stories and beautiful stylized writing, you'll certainly find something of value in this collection. It explores a variety of lively historical settings, offers interesting perspectives into the sociological and psychological aspects of both society and the individual, and serves as a window into the thoughts and experiences of the author himself. From the reader's perspective - looking at a chronological overview of his life and later reading his own thoughts on himself, his actions and the people surrounding him - my relationship with him was certainly complicated. While feeling frustrated at some of his comments, others made me laugh - and by the end of the collection, flipping through the last pages of Spinning Gears, it almost felt like I was going through a bout of anxiety worrying over his declining mental state.
Somewhere around the middle mark of the collection, I went out and got any translation of his works I could find - thankfully, there has been a rise in translation of Japanese literature over the past decade. I found myself enjoying his writing style so much that the thought of learning Japanese crossed my language-loving mind briefly. After all, there's nothing quite as satisfying as reading a work in its original form. I doubt this will ever happen, but it's a funny little thing that this work made me consider.
Some of my favourite stories from the collection, in the order in which they appear:
• Rashomon
• Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale
• Hell Screen
• The Life of a Stupid Man
• Spinning Gears
If you're a lover of short stories and beautiful stylized writing, you'll certainly find something of value in this collection. It explores a variety of lively historical settings, offers interesting perspectives into the sociological and psychological aspects of both society and the individual, and serves as a window into the thoughts and experiences of the author himself. From the reader's perspective - looking at a chronological overview of his life and later reading his own thoughts on himself, his actions and the people surrounding him - my relationship with him was certainly complicated. While feeling frustrated at some of his comments, others made me laugh - and by the end of the collection, flipping through the last pages of Spinning Gears, it almost felt like I was going through a bout of anxiety worrying over his declining mental state.
Somewhere around the middle mark of the collection, I went out and got any translation of his works I could find - thankfully, there has been a rise in translation of Japanese literature over the past decade. I found myself enjoying his writing style so much that the thought of learning Japanese crossed my language-loving mind briefly. After all, there's nothing quite as satisfying as reading a work in its original form. I doubt this will ever happen, but it's a funny little thing that this work made me consider.
Some of my favourite stories from the collection, in the order in which they appear:
• Rashomon
• Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale
• Hell Screen
• The Life of a Stupid Man
• Spinning Gears
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
naomix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Gore, and War
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, and Infidelity
albernikolauras's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a complicated set of stories to review. I enjoyed most of the stories well enough, and this edition was excellent with how the footnotes helped explain the stories. The collection overall was greater than the individual stories. The stories generally fall into historical fiction (for the author's time) and some semi-autobiographical stories.
I would highly recommend reading the introduction to this story collection (or at least the timeline, which I went back and forth to throughout the collection) and go into this ready to learn. Akutagawa was plagued by a lot of darkness within his life, and this collection definitely carries that darkness, so beware.
I would highly recommend reading the introduction to this story collection (or at least the timeline, which I went back and forth to throughout the collection) and go into this ready to learn. Akutagawa was plagued by a lot of darkness within his life, and this collection definitely carries that darkness, so beware.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Murder
pigeonpersona's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a great piece to get introduced to Akutagawa's work, and contains a great mix of short stories. He has a very masterful way of writing that placed me in the environment he wanted to present and I enjoyed seeing how characters would react to the situations presented to them. There weren't any stories in particular that I disliked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and War
axiomofequality's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO WORDS THIS BOOK WAS JUST SO GOOD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Suicide
Minor: Bullying
unboxedjack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Violence
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