This book is incredibly painful, for all of the right reasons.
It is relatable in a cathartic and fire-starting way. The reader - typically a young man - will inevitably project all of their failings onto Kusunoki. In my case, Three Days of Happiness spurred me to take my own life a little more seriously.
That being said, it is also incredibly beautiful. Brilliantly written, it generates powerful images at every critical point of the novel. The author, Sugaru Miaki, manages to catch you completely off guard on a number of occasions. Especially in the final third of the book, Miaki mixes bitter and sweet deftly, creating a dark chocolatey miasma you can't help but read again and again.
This is one of only a handful of books I have ever bought and I am probably going to buy it in Japanese at some point. I number it among a select few that genuinely changed my life.
