The Subtle art of not giving a f*ck | Book review

The Subtle art of not giving a f*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson is not about not giving a f*ck about nothing, it's about giving a f*ck for the things that matter most. In essence, the question is, should you really give a f*ck about this book?

If you think the introduction to this blog post contains much unnecessary cursing, then don't read the book. But I'd say there are more reasons not to read the book altogether.

What is it about? I hear you not ask. Well, it's about himself. And when he's not talking about himself, he's mansplaining Eastern philosophy and reminding us that the key to happiness is the acceptance of our own death, which is the only thing I'm thinking about anyway. It's a very surface level approach to Stoicism and Buddhism. I believe we'd all be better off reading the original Tripitaka, instead of this modern, cringe, and misogynistic interpretation of the scripture.

I could get over the self-indulgence, mostly, but Manson gives me the impression he's a guy I wouldn't want to hang out with. Definitely written by and for straight, white, entitled males.

The thing I can't forgive in this book, though, is the author's irresponsibility in his chapter about false memories. He illustrates the fact that people have false memories with a 1980's example of a woman who falsely accused her father of abuse, following it up with the claim that hundreds of innocent people have been wrongly accused of sexual violence due to false memory. This is an extremely irresponsible position to state in a best-selling book (or any book for that matter), since a casual reader who is not familiar with sexual violence and rape and abuse could easily walk away with the impression that survivors of sexual assault often unintentionally make their assaults up. Especially in a society where rape is of the most underreported crimes. And the fact that Manson says they're all lying - oh wait, sorry, they're not lying, they just don't remember correctly, there's a difference -

The possibility of not being believed plays a big role in women remaining silent to this day. Hugely irresponsible. I give no f*cks for this book.