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The Silver Spoon: Memoir of a Boyhood in Japan

Kansuke Naka,

Hiroaki Sato (Translation)

3.89 · Rating details · 37 ratings · 9 reviews

Perhaps the most admired childhood memoir ever written in Japan, The Silver Spoon is a sharp detailing of life at the end of the Meiji period (1912) through the eyes of a boy as he grows into adolescence. Innocence fades as he slowly becomes aware of himself and others, while scene after scene richly evokes the tastes, lifestyles, landscapes, objects, and manners of a lost ...more

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Paperback, 208 pages

Published October 27th 2015 by Stone Bridge Press (first published April 1926)

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· 37 ratings · 9 reviews

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Apr 04, 2020 Yusuf rated it liked it

I couldn't finish it. Maybe l can try in the future again, but l find it hard to read, detailed but kind of boring way. ...more

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Apr 10, 2016 Joel rated it liked it

Shelves: first-reads, japan, memoirs-autobiographies

(Note: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.)

A memoir of the author's childhood in Japan, mostly during the 1890s; written while he was still a young man. The book is apparently a revered classic in Japan. It covers his pre-school days as a sickly, overprotected child watched over zealously by his aunt, and the friendships and rivalries of his early school years. The final sections leap forward a bit, into his late teens.

There's a definite childlike awe of the world ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 michio rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

自分にとっての拠り所といえる本。
大切なものは何か、感性とは何か、残るものは何か…
あわただしく回る生活の中から、ゆっくりと、心地好く、本質に引き戻してくれる貴重な本。

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Mar 23, 2018 Tan Clare rated it liked it · review of another edition

主题其实是简单不过的"童年"与"成长"，英语俗称"coming of age"。但作者是以注重主题，而非情节铺排。整书是犹如汇集顺序的散篇回忆录，会让人觉得有点无节凑与明确进展。但故事的"诚”度却也满溢着的，让人感动。可能人生正确确实实是如此。 ...more

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Mar 22, 2021 Sachie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

大学生だった時に読んだ本。透きとおった文体が印象的だった。こういう本の良さは外国語には訳せないんだと思う。

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Nov 03, 2015 GONZA rated it really liked it

A wonderful recollection of childhood memories from a kid that will become Natzume Soseki's student. The life of a child in Japan before the first world war, so beautifully written that even the cruelest moment seem to be happy.

Una meravigliosa raccolta di ricordi d'infanzia di quello che diventerá poi uno studente di Natzume Soseki. La vita di un bambino in Giappone prima della Prima guerra Mondiale, scritto cosí bene che anche i momenti piú crudeli sembrano ammantati di magia.

THANKS TO EDELWEI ...more

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May 19, 2016 D. H. rated it it was ok

I'm a huge fan of Hiroki Sato, the translator of this text. If we were to take all the wonderful introductions he's written for all the books he's written, we'd have a truly wonderful text on Japanese letters. ...more

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Nov 15, 2016 Stacy Gleiss rated it really liked it

This reminds me of my ex husband, a man raised in an elite family with all the expectations placed upon him.

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Apr 06, 2016 Todd rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This makes you reminisce about your childhood, no matter which it was bitter or sweet, even this book was written a long time ago (1910-1913). Souseki strongly appreciated this.

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