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

"Why did this one have to be born — to come into the world like all the others, this world so full of suffering? Why did this one have to bear the destiny of having a father like me?
This was the first son his wife bore him."

"Those whom the gods love die young."

"Sitting in a rattan chair, observing the new growth of a shii tree, he often thought of the peace that death would give him."