From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

Kokoro

Natsume Sōseki,

Edwin McClellan (Translator)

Start date: August 1, 2019

Finish date: August 31, 2019

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Shelves: 2020-read, fiction, classics, hf, audible-us, philo-psychol, relationships, japan, love

Kokoro is the title of this Japanese classic published in 1914 by Natsume Soseki. It is also a Japanese word meaning “the heart of a thing”, or in other words the essence or the core of whatever it is one is talking about, maybe a person or perhaps a concept. It is good to keep this in mind as you read the book. If the word intrigues you, I think you will also like the book. The book leads you on a search for understanding of the central character.

The story spreads over several years, starting Kokoro is the title of this Japanese classic published in 1914 by Natsume Soseki. It is also a Japanese word meaning “the heart of a thing”, or in other words the essence or the core of whatever it is one is talking about, maybe a person or perhaps a concept. It is good to keep this in mind as you read the book. If the word intrigues you, I think you will also like the book. The book leads you on a search for understanding of the central character.

The story spreads over several years, starting around 1910, in Kamakura, Japan. The setting moves to Tokyo and to provincial life in the countryside. It is told in three parts, All three in the first person narrative. In Kamakura a student meets and becomes friends with an older man whom he calls Sensei (teacher). Earlier experiences in his life have shaped Sensei to the man he has become. The book is a search to understand the sensei.

The student tells the first two parts. Sensei speaks in the last, through a letter addressed to the younger man. There is no two ways about it, this is a story told rather than shown. Warning signs flash; you shouldn’t tell a story this way, the rules say! Nevertheless, it works—very well!

The younger and the older man become friends, and yet there remains a distance between them. Sensei’s life holds a secret. It is built on a secret, a secret that cannot be revealed. As the two grow closer, the sensei says he will one day explain. That secret is explained in the letter.

The reader’s curiosity grows. The reader wants to know what has happened in the life of the sensei to make him say the things he says and act as he does. Suspense mounts as you try and figure out what has happened. Before all is made clear, you are guessing. You begin to have an inkling of what is going on. You think you understand. You hold your breath and wait and see if your guess is right.

What is delivered is a topnotch character study.

The story’s theme circles around guilt. If you achieve what you are going after by the wrong means, is it any longer worth having? Dislike of others can be caused by a dislike of one’s self. Living a life built on a secret is lonely. How does one change this? What are the possible means of escape?

The edition I listened to is translated by and has a short informative introduction by Edwin McClellan. Therein is explained the meaning of the word Kokoro. The translation flows smoothly, naturally. The prose is straightforward, clear and simple, never convoluted nor complicated.

This story is told, rather than shown. It shouldn’t work, but it does. With a good author, even good rules can be broken.

Matt Shea narrates the audiobook. He reads in an even tone. This fits well as one’s curiosity grows and tension mounts. Heavy dramatization would work less well. There are sections he reads too quickly. Some words are hard to decipher. I have given the narration three stars—it’s good, but not exceptional. ...more

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