A review by heyshey
Three Days of Happiness by Sugaru Miaki

4.0

It's amusing that this book falls under the 'Light Novel' category, yet its themes are pretty heavy that it's almost hopeless. Kusunoki, a college student without clear ambitions or goals, chances upon a mysterious shop that offers a unique service - the opportunity to trade your remaining lifespan, time, or health for instant cash. The narrative is straightforward, and easy to follow, and it holds my attention the entire time I'm reading it. I appreciate how this book makes me think about the nature of reality, free will, and the choices we make. The protagonist's experiences compel me to reassess what truly matters in life, it challenges the ideas of happiness and fulfillment. Existentialism at its peak, and I couldn't put it down. While I suspect this might be a commonplace theme in Japanese literature, this is my first time reading this kind of premise, so it's very intriguing for me, and it was a bittersweet journey. Anyway, here are a couple of things this book did to me: it brought tears to my eyes in public, and I almost tempted myself to toss it out the door Bradley Cooper style in Silver Linings Playbook.