text: The protagonist of this novel reminisces about the time he spent an entire night on his bicycle attempting to find an escaped mental patient who thought that dogs were the devil, only to find that he had hung himself.
full_question: The protagonist of this novel reminisces about the time he spent an entire night on his bicycle attempting to find an escaped mental patient who thought that dogs were the devil, only to find that he had hung himself. This novel contains an extensive description of William Blake's Pestilence: Death of the First Born, a copy of which hangs in a character's messy apartment. Another character in this novel is constantly compared to the wounded Apollinaire because of his bandaged head. That character is named after the owner of a gay bar, Kikuhiko, and his appearance causes the protagonist to get drunk and throw up while teaching cram school. This novel's protagonist is encouraged to follow through on his dream of traveling to Africa by his mistress Himiko, with whom he hides out after his wife gives birth to a child with a serious brain hernia. For 10 points, name this autobiographical novel about Bird, a 1964 work by Kenzaburo Oe.
first_sentence: The protagonist of this novel reminisces about the time he spent an entire night on his bicycle attempting to find an escaped mental patient who thought that dogs were the devil, only to find that he had hung himself.
raw_answer: A Personal Matter [or Kojinteki na taiken]