I had wanted to read this book for awhile especially seeing it referenced in Japanese pop culture. The writing style seems a bit awkward for me. I didn't like it at first but then got wrapped up in Yozo's story. It is a story about the progression of Yozo's life and his disconnection from the world around him and his struggle to try and connect. As each phase is unsuccessful, you always hope that he pulls through. At times, you would think of an individual with teenaged angst; other times, you might see an individual in a deep depression. While the notebooks were compelling, I found the prologue and epilogue very different. At first, I thought it was Yozo looking back but no, it was a different person altogether. They had intense disgust for Yozo from beginning to end. I guess in some naive way, I was hoping it was a healthy Yozo looking back on the old Yozo but even if it was so, the intense disgust would still be unhealthy.