A Personal Matter is a semi-autobiographical novel by Kenzaburo Oe, written in 1964. The novel deals with themes of morality, mental illness, despair and acceptance. A man named Bird has a son who has a benign brain tumor (originally diagnosed as a brain hernia) and is mentally handicapped. Bird struggles with his duty to care for his son but attempts to kill him somewhat half-heartedly. His marriage falls apart as he turns to drinking and an affair, though eventually he keeps the child.
Boasting the largest collection of book summaries, BookRags is the best option for titles you can't find elsewhere. They offer all of the basics (quotes, chapter summary, characters, historical context, literary criticism) but also walk through a few major topics that recur throughout the book, which can be particularly useful for essay writing.