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Kokoro

by Sōseki Natsume, Edwin McClellan (Translator)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 4,019 ratings · 290 reviews

Hailed by The New Yorker as "rich in understanding and insight," Kokoro — "the heart of things" — is the work of one of Japan's most popular authors. This thought-provoking trilogy of stories explores the very essence of loneliness and stands as a stirring introduction to modern Japanese literature.

Paperback, 208 pages

Published August 11th 2006 by Dover Publications (first published 1914)

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Apr 22, 2011 Mariel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: when it dies

Recommended to Mariel by: when it lives

Kokoro translates to "the heart of things". I only know this because the translator's forward said it was so. I need a translator, from my heart's mind to yours (anyone?)... I am afraid that I will wander around in the dark mental spaces again. Gray shades of life experiences and emotional (not necessarily reality) experiences. Who could pick up on the undertones and relevances? I'm truly afraid that worse than making no sense, I'll be sitting at the feet (Muppet babies feet? Peanuts gang feet?...more Kokoro translates to "the heart of things". I only know this because the translator's forward said it was so. I need a translator, from my heart's mind to yours (anyone?)... I am afraid that I will wander around in the dark mental spaces again. Gray shades of life experiences and emotional (not necessarily reality) experiences. Who could pick up on the undertones and relevances? I'm truly afraid that worse than making no sense, I'll be sitting at the feet (Muppet babies feet? Peanuts gang feet? Warbled voices of unknowable adult world? Something like that) in my open mouthed admiration again. In affection? Most definitely. This affection kept my heart in my mouth when reading Kokoro. That is mine! (Does anyone in my life ever understand that about me? I only hope... It feels wretched when I don't make sense. It is hopeless when I reflect cold.) It's a lonely and reserved affection. I AM going to make no sense again. I related tight rope walking style once again to the great divide in humanity and loneliness. The young student who sees in his Sensei a value of life experiences (damn it it is much, much more than that to him. A lifeline? A tugged line across various life shit. The best part is not holding it alone). Sensei who has willfully lived as dead for a long time from a past betrayal to himself and his friend (he deliberately severed another tugged line, in a sense. Over a girl. Try to make real book sense for a change, Mariel!). Willfully, not willingly. The resolve earlier made would have spared (not saved) him from a lifetime of suspended mental hell. Loneliness. The worst kind because company couldn't change the fact that your own company is unendurable. Not his student's (well, of a sort) affection in loneliness. Kokoro hit me hard because, well, I'm in both of those times all of my time. I believe in this "heart of things" because it is that watching and reaching out affection of lonely connections of the student to the sensei... The not being pushed away, no matter the pushing, future and life shit that could just at the wrong twist of fate and time break the tenous hold. Lines are so damned hard to keep up. I really didn't expect to read this love behind all of this. (I needed it. It'd have been a MUST read if I'd known.) Now I wish I could ever be as sure as the student that these feelings and experiences give the good kind of heavy weight on the balance of that damned tight rope of depression and doubts... I have the affection... I don't have the surety. Sensei? Anyone?

Here are some passages that I marked off for myself.

"The memory that you once sat at my feet will begin to haunt you and, in bitterness and shame, you will want to degrade me. I do not want your admiration now, because I do not want your insults in the future. I bear with my loneliness now, in order to avoid greater loneliness in the years ahead. You see, loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern age, so full of freedom, independence, and our own egotistical selves."
But the fire behind the cold heart walls! Even I've got 'em...

"I was once deceived," Sensei said. "Moreover, I was deceived by own blood relations. I shall never forget this. When my father was alive, they behaved like decent people. But as soon as he died they turned into scroundrels. The effect of the injury that they did me in my youth is with me still. It will be with me, I suppose, until I die. What they did to me I shall remember so long as I live. But I have never taken my revenge on them. When I think about it, I have done something much worse than that. I have come to hate not only them, but the human race in general. That is quite enough, I think."
Not even words of consolation came to my lips.
I didn't think what his Uncle and family did stealing his inheritance was as shocking as all that. It was his own betrayal that killed. I don't care what Sensei says.

"It would appear that you are unable to distinguish between my ideas at present and the events of my past. I am not much of a thinker, but the few ideas that I do have, I have no wish to hide from others. I have no reason to. But if you are suggesting that I should tell you all about my past- well, that's another matter entirely."
"I do not agree with you. I value your opinions because they are the results of your experience. Your opinions would be worthless otherwise. They would be like soulless dolls."
I saved this for myself because I have long felt such remorse (close to shame) the times I've opened up about stuff. Like I had no right to. (Why am I admitting this? Because this book is more urgent to me than I was led to believe on amazon.com reviews. It's not a predecessor of No Longer Human. It's behind loneliness built up walls affection. Like weeds!)

"It is possible that, in a sense, I deserved his contempt. His point of view of everything was much loftier than mine. I do not deny this. But when the loftiness is merely in one's point of view, then one is hopelessly handicapped as a human being. I decided that what he needed, above all else, was humanizing. No matter how full one's head might be with the image of greatness, one was useless, I found out, unless one was a worthy man first."
Sensei may not have believed it but... Loftiness? What the hell is that good for? I get nosebleeds from looking up at that...

"Time and time again, I wondered what had caused K to commit suicide. At first, I was inclined to think that it was disappointment in love. I could think of nothing but love then, and quite naturally I accepted without question the first simple and straightforward explanation that came to my mind. Later, however, when I could think more objectively, I began to wonder whether my explanation had not been too simple. I asked myself, "Was it perhaps because his ideals clashed with reality that he killed himself?" But I could not convince myself that K had chosen death for such a reason. Finally, I became aware of the possibility that K had experienced loneliness as terrible as mine, and wishing to escape quickly from it, had killed himself. Once more, fear gripped my heart. From then on, like a gust of winter wind, the premonition that I was treading the same path as K had done would rush at me from time to time, and chill me to the bone."
I don't want to be Sensei. Whatever happened with K, that doesn't twist up his other lines. I would want to burn fires for him too.

"Then, at the height of the summer, Emperor Meiji passed away. I felt as though the spirit of the Meiji era had begun with the Emperor and had ended with him. I was overcome with the feeling that I and the others, who had been brought up in that era, were now left behind to live as anachronisms. I told my wife so. She laughed and refused to take me seriously. Then she said a curious thing, albeit in jest: "Well then, junshi is the solution to your problem." (Junshi means "following one's lord to the grave.")
Oh fuck that. There is no such fucking thing. There is no hope at all if that is true.(less)

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Jul 27, 2007 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel, centered around the friendship of a young student and an elder "Sensei", deals with the transition from Japan's Meiji society to the modern era. The young student develops a strange fascination with the misanthrope Sensei and through vague conversations, and ultimately a tell-all epistle, discovers the truth behind the Sensei's ennui and malaise. The book moves slowly, and the reluctance of the characters to just say what they are thinking is a bit tedious, but it is well written and...more

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Nov 03, 2012 umberto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, fiction

I found reading Soseki's "Kokoro" interestingly enjoyable and impressive because at first I didn't think I'd reat it at all due to its plain title. I knew it's Japanese but it meant nothing to me, however, I read somewhere this novel is one of his outstanding works. So I thought reading it should be worth spending my free time.

"Kokoro" meaning "the heart of things" (p. vi) superbly translated by Edwin McClellan whom I've never read before is definitely one of Soseki's masterpieces since we reade...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Declan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very quiet book, one that whispers its way through the details of a friendship between two men but which brings us to an understanding of how the understated detail can be more intense and painful than one which is expressed loudly and with force. The level of restraint and discipline displayed are admirable in many ways, but they coexist with an a great deal of hypocrisy and an expectation of self-imposed subservience .

However the book was marred ,for me, from the beginning by the fa...more

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Jul 24, 2007 maria rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book to me is intriguing. i'll admit that it took me a long time to finish it because although it is quite simply stated the book has a kind of density. for now i will cluster it with austerlitz by wg sebald, another author who i very much enjoy. the concept address are of memory and in more sense then most other books the narrative is linear. i do not mean linear in the sense that it is easy to follow, no loops on and out of time as it is lived or flourishes of word, but i mean that once i...more

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Dec 06, 2008 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

kokoro is about the relationship between a young man and his mentor. The young man narrates the first half of the novel and begins by introducing his mentor, explaining that he always only called him Sensei, which means “teacher”.

Sensei narrates the second half of the novel through a letter written to the young man.

Natsume Soseki is concerned with themes of isolation, especially loneliness resulting from the rapid social changes during the Meiji Period of Japan. He writes in the tradition of t...more

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May 23, 2008 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Natsume Soseki, the man whose face used to be on the 1000 yen note, single-handedly brought the modern era of literature to Japan. Kokoro is the story of a young student who befriends an often distant and unpredictable man he names "Sensei" and his discovery of Sensei's hidden past. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a novel of grand proportions that unfolds beautifully amidst the sensibilities and poetics of Japanese tradition while breaking way for the modern Japanese novel...more

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Nov 06, 2007 Annie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

loved this book. picked it up, not knowing anything about soseki and after reading it, or even during, realized exactly why he's on the old 1000 yen note.

this book made me really want to visit kamakura.. and i did. but it totally romanticized kamakura for me. it's description about the ocean.. i think the first time the narrator meets sensei was really pleasing. i remember remembering it. there are a lot of quotes from here i really like.

also, it's really different from botchan, but something v...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Mari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Kafka on the Shore fans

Shelves: asian-culture, literature-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 09, 2013 Mai Shimada rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having lived in the area as a student of the college those characters attended for 4 years, the description of all the neighborhoods around easily brought me vivid images of those beautiful places. Konnyakuenma, zoushigaya, uguisudani, ueno... Even in this popular residential area nowadays, many of historic buildings ate still preserved and I loved to walk around to find the trace of history.

This was my second time reading Kokoro. Those narrowed view young people who like to drive themselves cra...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was a really interesting read. I had some little qualms about the narration, and the simplicity of the prose (the beauty may have been lost in translation), but overall there was nothing that greatly affected my enjoying the book.
While I have stated that I had issues with narration, I think the issues lie solely with the first half. I understand it was a set-up for the second part which makes the beauty of the story as a whole apparent, and is still totally worth the read as you will not comp...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Kiersten Lawson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A beautifully poetic 1914 novel. "Kokoro" can be translated as "the heart of things":

"Can one expect the complicated mechanism of the human mind to betray its purposes so obviously, as though it were some kind of clock?"

"The forlorn singing of the insects reaches me through the closed shutters, and one feels that their song is of the dews of coming autumn."

"Without hesitation, I am about to force you into the shadows of this dark world of ours. But you must not fear. Gaze steadily into the shad...more

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Feb 13, 2013 J. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: japanese

The 18th century politician Edmund Burke commented -
"Guilt was never a rational thing; it distorts all the faculties of the human mind, it perverts them, it leaves a man no longer in the free use of his reason, it puts him into confusion".

The subject of "Kokoro" is guilt and how a man's life was changed due to his failure to reconcile the type of person that he ought to have been at a certain time in his life and the actions that he decided to take.

A young impressionable student is drawn to an o...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Vikram rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After looking for some Japanese literature penned by someone other than Murakami, I came across Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro." This piece's simplicity and tone of narration reminds me deeply of Hesse's "Demian" and "Siddhartha," and though, on the surface, there may be thematic similarities between the novels -- those of isolation, guilt, and egoism -- "Kokoro" approaches these motifs from a Japanese post-Meiji period perspective of transition. The story is recounted by two narrators: the first, a u...more After looking for some Japanese literature penned by someone other than Murakami, I came across Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro." This piece's simplicity and tone of narration reminds me deeply of Hesse's "Demian" and "Siddhartha," and though, on the surface, there may be thematic similarities between the novels -- those of isolation, guilt, and egoism -- "Kokoro" approaches these motifs from a Japanese post-Meiji period perspective of transition. The story is recounted by two narrators: the first, a university student just starting off his life and the second, an old man, known as "Sensei," plagued with guilt from decisions he made in his youth. The two become friends, and through their interactions over the course of the student's university career, we glimpse into the various themes presented in novel. Some of the book focuses around issues of inheritance and property, which was frankly somewhat dull to get through, but the story quickly comes to a head during Sensei's narration, where we finally find out what plagued him with guilt his entire adult life. Soseki's storytelling flourishes in this final, beautifully written section presented as Sensei's letter to his young counterpart. The following segment from Chapter 56, emblematic of each of the novel's motifs, serves as Sensei's final teaching to the university graduate:

"I will not hesitate to cast upon you the shadow thrown by the darkness of human life. But do not be afraid. Gaze steadfastly into this darkness, and find there are the things that will be of use to you. The darkness of which I speak is a moral darkness. I was born a moral man and raised as one. My morality is probably very different from that of young people today. But different though it may be, it is my own. It is not some rented clothing I have borrowed to suit the moment. This is why I believe it will be of some use to you, a young man just starting out in life."

Soseki's Japan cradled the Meiji period's transition to the modern era. The difficulty of this transition is made evident in "Kokoro." On one hand, Soseki highlights this transition by underscoring differences in traditional and modern norms and beliefs. On the other hand, Soseki presents dangerous similarities between individuals of both eras. By evoking the character of Sensei, Soseki stresses to us that elders still have much to teach youth.(less)

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Jan 15, 2013 Anonymoustwlicat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

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Jan 10, 2013 Victoria Haf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: libros-que-amo

descargué este libro de epub gratis y es una muy buena edición porque trae una introducción enorme que te explica el contexto del libro, que es el periodo Meiji, o la apertura de Japón al occidente después de más de 200 años de estar encerrado, te explica como el autor fue de los primeros en realizar novelas japonesas (antes se hacían cuentos y poesías, los japoneses son más bien concisos y contemplativos) y como este libro es al mismo tiempo muy japonés (en su ritmo, su tema, sus silencios, sus...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Jeffrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always liked most of Japanese culture (and admittedly I still don't know that much about it) such as manga and films. So when I found out I had to read this for my English class, I got pretty excited. I tried to not get my hopes up too high, though, because I knew this was written a hundred years ago and I figured that all I knew of Japanese culture was simply too modern to relate to something from so long ago.

However, when I started reading this, I had a hard time putting it down. The plot...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Gerry O'Malley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: serious readers and students of Japanese culture and literature

Recommended to Gerry by: Rika O'Malley

This novel is "required reading" by most Japanese students. My wife gave it to me as an anniversary present, otherwise I never would have known about it or have had the pleasure of reading it. I say "pleasure" because it really is an enjoyable read. The story is quite condensed and the number of characters are limited to just a few very easily recognizable personalities and the story is told in the first person, so all three sections of the book read quickly and easily as a narrative.

The three...more This novel is "required reading" by most Japanese students. My wife gave it to me as an anniversary present, otherwise I never would have known about it or have had the pleasure of reading it. I say "pleasure" because it really is an enjoyable read. The story is quite condensed and the number of characters are limited to just a few very easily recognizable personalities and the story is told in the first person, so all three sections of the book read quickly and easily as a narrative.

The three sections of the book describe three different types of relationships, the first between a young man and his mentor, the second between the young man and his parents and the third between the mentor and himself. The first two sections are told from the point of view of a young student and end abruptly, which is the only major disappointment in this novel (which is really like three short stories involving the same characters). At the end of the second section, the main character, in whom the reader has invested over 120 pages, leaves his father's funeral and jumps on a train to Tokyo. During the train ride, the young man "reads" the third section of the book, which is a "testament" or "confession" from his mentor. What happened to this young man? Did he ever return to his father's house and funeral? The third section is the longest and most satisfying because it describes the events and decisions and choices that shape and influence and ultimately stifle the potential of an otherwise vibrant life.

The most fascinating aspect of this book, and the most difficult for the Western reader to grasp, is the incredibly disciplined and structured social and interpersonal hierarchy that exists in Japan, particularly during the Meiji era (1868-1912) which is when most of the story takes place. The mentor's confessional even alludes several times to the differences and changes in the social norms and behaviors during the formative experiences that shaped his life and those of the young man reading the memoir. The Western reader will find many of the miscommunications and frustrations among the various characters confusing and ridiculous but these are real people living lives of quiet desperation and when viewed through a different societal prism, I think their experiences may be universally analogous to the entire human condition.

Soseki's style seems somewhere inbetween the dense and difficult to read prose of a writer like Kenzaburo Oe and the light, sparse prose of Haruki Murakami. I had to go back and re-read several paragraphs in "Kokoro", but for the most part, this 248 page book can be read quickly in 2 or 3 sittings.

"Kokoro"is translated as 'the heart of things' or 'feelings'. I think something is lost in the translation because the very, very dark subject matter (two major characters commit suicide) describes a more ominous and terrifying exploration of loneliness and the search for meaning in life. (less)

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Jul 31, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am particularly fond of Japanese literatures. The language use in Kokoro is direct and rigid for me, but I have to put in perspective that this was written almost a hundred years ago in 1914. So people spoke differently, it seem to align with japanese policies of being courteous, to me this book captured that whole vibe. What drew me to this book was the underlying sense of loneliness in all of the characters. It seems relatable to me.

It's written in first person narration, and I feel the nar...more I am particularly fond of Japanese literatures. The language use in Kokoro is direct and rigid for me, but I have to put in perspective that this was written almost a hundred years ago in 1914. So people spoke differently, it seem to align with japanese policies of being courteous, to me this book captured that whole vibe. What drew me to this book was the underlying sense of loneliness in all of the characters. It seems relatable to me.

It's written in first person narration, and I feel the narrator is merely a medium in conveying "Sensei's" story. Sensei was first introduced as a object of respect and admiration (mostly experienced by the narrator) but always a source of mystery. Never too revealing of his past. Admittedly, this isn't a book that I read in one sitting, I took quite a while with it compared to my normal standards. So the middle of the story, the narrator receives a letter from Sensei talking about his past. It's surprising yet common to realize that every man has an evil side to them, no matter the consequences. For Sensei to indirectly drive another man to untimely demise for selfish purposes was astonishing to me since he was initially described with high altitudes. The realization of his fault, the shadow of guilt follows him and eventually he inevitably ends with the same fate. All in all, I thought Sensei's love for Ojasan or his wife is beautiful. Even when it's tainted with self-seeking ink stains, he loved her the best he could in his own way. The reference to the emperor's suicide and the correlation was striking too, about "Junshi" (following his lord to the grave) and how he meant it.

To me, "K" was the epitome of innocence though uncharacteristically non-human at times, sure he can be insensitive to other people's feelings but he was an intellectual and his disposition developed through being acquainted with the two women. Reminds me of Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami, the narrator was also "K" and it revolves around his unconfessed love for Sumire. Maybe Murakami drew inspiration from this classic. Who knows. This book had a lot of simple truths. Kokoro means "heart of things." I adore that.(less)

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May 29, 2012 Rebekah Agee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the story of a young man meeting a mysterious stranger, he calls "Sensei" while vacationing and the friendship/acquaintance that develops between the two. I was expecting the book to be completely foreign to me given that it takes place in a different country and a different time period, but I was shocked to see how much I could related to the problems of the characters. The narrator (he is never called by his name) is a young man who is completing his education in Tokyo. He is pretty la...more This is the story of a young man meeting a mysterious stranger, he calls "Sensei" while vacationing and the friendship/acquaintance that develops between the two. I was expecting the book to be completely foreign to me given that it takes place in a different country and a different time period, but I was shocked to see how much I could related to the problems of the characters. The narrator (he is never called by his name) is a young man who is completing his education in Tokyo. He is pretty lazy about his school work & then crams it all in at the end, pretty half-heartedly. After he finishes school, he returns back home with no idea what to do or where to go from there. (Completely relate-able). He admires Sensei b/c he appears to be an intellectual, but is often frustrated b/c Sensei is secretive about his past & rather indifferent towards their friendship.

Once the narrator returns home to the country, his father's illness takes a turn for the worst & it is at this time that Sensei wishes to see him, but alas, he cannot go. Sensei then writes his life story and the events that happened earlier in his life that made him so reclusive and bitter.

Sensei's story is definitely the more interesting and moving story and is also completely relate-able. You understand the events that made him so bitter towards society, and then another event that made him realize that he was just as bad as society. This shocking discovery was the final blow to his spirit and he was forever haunted.

It was frustrating that it didn't go back and conclude the narrators story. It just ends with the narrator reading Sensei's letter on the train. I did like the warning the story gives about being selfish and "individualism" which apparently was a very "modern" idea for Japan at the time. Sensei says "Through cunning I may have won, but as a man, I have lost" He realized he got his instant gratification, but the results of his underhandedness caused him to be haunted for the rest of his life. It was unfortunate that he did not understand forgiveness, for himself or for others; nor did he understand grace. (less)

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Jan 28, 2012 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reading

Kokoro is a beautifully written story with a deep underlying sadness of a young man who befriends a mysterious mentor with a troubled past, which isn't revealed until after the narrator travel home to care for his dying father. This is a story of relationships and the decisions we make that can forever alter those bonds. This is novel about longing for a past we can't have, even if it causes us so much pain.

It's easy to tell that Natsume Soseki was concerned with themes of isolation, especially...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Meghan Fidler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even with one of the most unsatisfactory endings, (I have limits to my acculturation, and I readily admit that unresolved, unsettling conclusions are inherently un-fulfilling for my 白人 [hakujin] self) I adore this book.
The intricacy between two life experiences not only act as a way for Sōseki to explore the rapid changes which were occurring in Japanese society, but also for the continuities between the times. The book has three story lines- the first where we 'the' protagonist in the story,...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Becky added it · review of another edition

Interesting book regarding the transition of Japan from the end of the Meji era to the beginning of the industrial revolution. Has hints of Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" but give the reader a break from the self-conscious narrator in the last chapter. We follow the narrator as he remembers when he first meets the sensei, the relationship taking on a romantic under-tone, but we quickly realize that it is simply a master-student relationship. The narrator is so eager to find a connection with so...more

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May 30, 2010 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Natsume Soseki was the father of modern Japanese literature and 'Kokoro' was the last novel he completed before his death in 1916. Who knew that 94 years later his books would still be being read by people all over the world.

This is a story about a friendship between to unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls "Sensei".

Sensei is haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a black cloud over his life and stunted his ability to live, to truly live. Sensei eventually begins...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Eddie Watkins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a pleasant change of pace for me. After tearing through some Dennis Cooper where characters commit the most heinous acts without a pang of conscience, I enjoyed luxuriating in the soul-poisoning lifelong qualms of a man consumed by quilt and regret for something he wasn't even directly responsible for.

Kokoro would definitely resonate on more levels for someone deeply familiar with Japan's social history, its transitions from one era to another - in this case the ending of the Meiji era...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Taka rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: japanese_lit, japan_jul07-aug11

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 30, 2013 Janice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i've been trying to find the name of this book again for a long time, and then i just happened to see someone's review here and i knew it was it. i read this in college, in a course about faith and alternative concepts of higher powers in mostly obscure international fiction. (i wish i could remember the name of the course. sadly, that wasn't it). i remember parts of this book making me want to tear my hair out with frustration at its slowness, but that time in my life was marked by everything m...more

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May 18, 2012 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Dec 17, 2008 Drej rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a fine exploration of character. The degree to which it delves into the character's thinking is a bit dizzying at times. At points there's nothing concrete, just pages of hesitation and thoughts. But I stuck with it, and I think it's worth it in the end. It helps that Kokoro is only about 200 pages; more and I would not recommend it.

Kokoro means "heart of things," and that's what Soseki tries to get at. It's a depressing story in the end, but it's clearly written (in the translation by McC...more

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May 05, 2013 Teresa Esteban rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: asian-lit, 20th-century, classics-challenge, ebook-challenge-2013

The novel could be divided in two parts:
- The first part explores a friendship between to men. The narrator, a young student, meets a man some years older than him and comes to admire him and, as his Sensei is rather unwilling to talk about himself or his past, he dilligently (and earnestly) tries to uncover what he can through his reason.
- The second part is Sensei's letter to his friend, which talks about his past.
You see everything in the book through the student's eyes. Even if I wasn't aw...more

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About Sōseki Natsume

Name in Kanji: 夏目漱石

Natsume Sōseki was the pen name of Natsume Kinnosuke, who is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji Era (1868–1912). He is commonly referred to as Sōseki. He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and...more

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Trivia About Kokoro

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Quotes from Kokoro

“I believe that words uttered in passion contain a greater living truth than do those words which express thoughts rationally conceived. It is blood that moves the body. Words are not meant to stir the air only: they are capable of moving greater things.” — 93 people liked it

“You seem to be under the impression that there is a special breed of bad humans. There is no such thing as a stereotype bad man in this world. Under normal conditions, everybody is more or less good, or, at least, ordinary. But tempt them, and they may suddenly change. That is what is so frightening about men.” — 54 people liked it

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avg rating	preview: Kokoro Goodreads rating: 3.97 (4019 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62764.Kokoro?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328863874l/62764.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62764.Kokoro?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Kokoro by Sōseki Natsume[/url]

Kokoro

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