The Malady Of Hunger

This is another amazing story from the author, Casual Wanderer! This is one of the stories about unconventional love (through today's society's lenses), patience, compassion, acceptance, and most importantly, living truthfully with yourself and your family. It also raised the issues and consequences of people having to live with masks or personas (if we prefer a fancier word) every day in every aspect of their lives, whether they chose to or were forced to do so.

Daniel is the centre of the story, of the malady that was mentioned in the title. However, his hunger is not the only hunger that was analysed or focused on. Other characters also have their own hunger. However, the different hungers didn't dilute the story's focus, and instead, they tied the events and characters together nicely.

Nora is my favourite character. In my humble opinion, she is the strongest. What happened to her, especially at the start of the novel, could easily destroy anyone in real life. And yet, she not only lived through it but also strengthened herself with love, compassion, and kindness. These are the qualities that made me fall in love with the character. 

Alec is my second favourite because he made me smile all the time, and he's kind. I think everyone should have an Alec in their lives. Alec also reminded me to Cash from "Down In the Holler", another novel from Casual Wanderer. I think these types of characters enrich every story they are in, and I hope to see more of them in future stories/novels

While Daniel is not in my top 2, he is one of the most interesting characters (if not the most). His imperfection and his journey to eventually recognise and accept it are one of the best highlights of the story. And even better, that he didn't achieve this on his own, but with the help of the people who loved him dearly and patiently. And this is the element that made me love this story.

If this is your first time reading a novel by the author, I would like to share that the first two chapters can be very intense and emotionally challenging. That is one of the charms of his work that never gets old, even among his veteran readers. However, things will be entangled, and questions will be answered throughout the novel. Another point is that since this is also about unconventional love, it won't be about monogamy, especially for the main characters. Nevertheless, I think if you approach the story with an open mind, you'll have a good time with this one. 

Finally, another improvement in Casual's writing that I found through this story is that there is an English translation next to each non-English dialogue most of the time. This kept the story engaging and my reading (and focus) unbroken since I no longer have to use a translation tool, like Google Translate. I hope this flow will continue with new stories or new chapters of current incomplete stories

“What does your conscience say? — ‘You should become the person you are.’”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

For Nietzsche, this isn’t about becoming socially better. It’s about stripping away illusion, fear, and borrowed values until what remains is unmistakably yours - and then owning it. That is exactly what Daniel, the main protagonist, does in this novel. Because literature doesn’t offer salvation - it offers clarity. It shows us how someone can come undone… and still move forward. Still choose love. Or solitude. Or silence. ( @CasualWanderer82 'A Bad Education')

The Malady of Hunger is not a story about desire, sex, or obsession - it is about the pain of being disconnected from ourselves, and the difficult, often frightening process of becoming whole. But becoming whole doesn't mean a completion - the hunger is never completely satisfied. As @CasualWanderer82 writes in ABE: “I don’t know if anyone becomes complete,” … “But I do believe suffering reveals the architecture beneath the façade. And sometimes, what we find underneath… is more beautiful than what we had before.”

If in A Bad Education the author offers a diagnosis - “Desire isn't always a fire that consumes. Sometimes it's a slow, cold hunger that devours you from the inside.” - then this novel offers a way forward. You don’t cure the malady of hunger. You don’t satisfy it or escape it - you become the person who can live with it. The cure for the malady is the malady itself. The hunger is the medicine. The hunger drove me through the glass. (@CasualWanderer82 'The Malady of Hunger').

So why read this book? Because it is “beautiful,” … “sharp. Honest. And just the right kind of cruel.” (@CasualWanderer82 'A Bad Education').