A review by brittnilurvesberks
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

1.0

To be disliked is to be free. There. I saved you a very frustrating reading experience. Do you have the courage to be disliked? I certainly hope this book does, because respectfully, Woof. Okay, maybe if you are brand new to this planet, have never done any work on yourself, and lack even a modicum of common sense, then sure, this book might be for you. But if you have been a human being here for more than let's say 2-5 years, I'd wager you can probably skip this one. This experience was like reading a book written by aliens about manners and how to act...I don't know, baseline NORMAL, in a wide range of circumstances. The presentation is attempting to mimic a Socratic discussion between philosopher and teacher, but this starves it of humanity, warmth and relatability. Which is a real shame because the only part I enjoyed was the Afterword, where I seemed to get an actual taste of the more natural writing style of the authors, and actually quite enjoyed getting to know them. That said, I don't know if the book had been presented differently if I would have enjoyed it anymore, because of the misogynistic undertones, inconsistencies, and oversimplifications happening throughout. Trauma doesn't exist? Girls only care about attention from boys? When you praise someone or tell them they did a "good job" you're condescending to them? The main character has no friends at one point and it's a major issue for him and then pages later defends that they have many friends? Sorry? What are we doing here? I knew from the first few chapters that I would be cringing through a lot of this, but I kept my head down and slogged through, because as a Leo, I like to dislike things in their fullness. I really think the biggest problem for this book lies in the presentation. If you told me AI wrote this, I would n'ere bat a single eye. If you are looking for a book that is a relatable, warm, inviting introduction to a bevy of philosophers and their hot takes, I recommend How to be Perfect by Michael Schur.