{"id":11286,"date":"2015-11-04T06:32:16","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T14:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=11286"},"modified":"2015-11-02T12:33:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T20:33:53","slug":"the-cheese-stealers-handbook-too-mired-in-misery-to-enjoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2015\/11\/04\/the-cheese-stealers-handbook-too-mired-in-misery-to-enjoy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cheese Stealer’s Handbook<\/em> too mired in misery to enjoy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cheese Stealer\u2019s Handbook<\/i> is a ruthlessly detailed chronicle of a struggling author\u2019s attempt, and consequent failure, at being a productive member of society.<\/p>\n

Shoshaku Jushaku, an ironic pen name which means \u201clife is one continuous mistake,\u201d uses his first book to share with us the minutiae of everyday life through the (bloodshot) eyes of a drug and alcohol addict.<\/p>\n

Stumbling his way through failed relationships and successful substance abuse, our hero, referred to only as \u201cAky,\u201d narrates his painful story with darkly cynical humour and an impressive sense of detachment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I wanted to sing this book\u2019s praises and use all sorts of synonyms that sounded better than \u201cgood.\u201d I was going to report that The Cheese Stealer\u2019s Handbook<\/i>\u00a0 was \u201cinsightful\u201d and \u201cthought-provoking\u201d and \u201cpoignant.\u201d In the end, The Cheese Stealer\u2019s Handbook<\/i> (a reference to Aky\u2019s propensity for dairy thieving) just left me with a sour taste in my mouth.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was my inability to empathize with a perpetually stoned protagonist, but reading about Aky\u2019s never-ending screw-ups got old really fast. Witnessing his unstoppable self-sabotaging was both frustrating and saddening as a reader.<\/p>\n

On one hand I wanted to shake Aky by the shoulders and tell him to get his life together; on the other hand, his tragedy reminded me of the real hardships faced by addicts and directionless people everywhere.<\/p>\n

Sure, there were some hilariously witty insights that Aky\u2019s drug-addled brain cooked up as he went from fix to fix, but they were not enough to offset the book\u2019s depressing effect. Joshaku didn\u2019t even have the courtesy to redeem poor Aky with a happy ending.<\/p>\n

Call me emotionally vulnerable, but The Cheese Stealer\u2019s Handbook<\/i> was just too distressing for me to enjoy. So read it at your own risk, and although the book won\u2019t actually teach you how to steal cheese from the Thrifty Foods down the street, there is a delicious fudge recipe on the back cover.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s Joshaku\u2019s way of making amends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cheese Stealer\u2019s Handbook is a ruthlessly detailed chronicle of a struggling author\u2019s attempt, and consequent failure, at being a productive member of society. Shoshaku Jushaku, an ironic pen name which means \u201clife is one continuous mistake,\u201d uses his first book to share with us the minutiae of everyday life through the (bloodshot) eyes of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t