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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good choice if you want an introduction to beginnings of 20th century Japanese culture. This book can sometimes seem to be "slow" but if you pay attention to all the context and descriptions it can turn into a pleasant story.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Soseki pertenece a esa rara estirpe de escritores que escriben con validez universal y sobre quienes el tiempo no pesa. El muchacho de provincia que viaja a la gran ciudad es un tropo que desde siempre se ha utilizado para hablar del choque que supone ser testigos en tiempo presente de la evolución de una época, ese fenómeno que a tantos acongoja y a unos cuantos maravilla. En Sanshiro, como en toda su obra, Soseki hablaba de la transformación de Japón durante la era Meiji, pero un siglo después podemos transportar sus temas y personajes a cualquier periodo. Ya los rusos lo decían: escribe sobre tu pueblo y hablarás sobre el mundo.
Sanshiro abandonará su pueblo y viajará a Tokio, donde en un principio se verá deslumbrado y dejará al desnudo su ingenuidad. El protagonista es un ingenuo, un indeciso, un tímido casi sin voluntad, pero ya en la universidad se rodeará de artistas pretenciosos, científicos, se hará amigo de un sujeto que no por embaucador deja de ser entrañable, se enamorará por primera vez de, claro, una mujer que representa el nuevo Japón, y entablará una relación con un profesor filósofo que insiste en aislarse y que funciona como un testigo silencioso de los acontecimientos. En fin, Sanshiro es una fórmula, pero no por ello desmerece. Diría yo que es una de las grandes obras de Soseki. Se asemeja a Kokoro, pero sin el aura apesadumbrada que caracteriza aquella obra. Esta, aunque refleja angustia e incomodidad, es mucho más luminosa en tanto es también una sátira de la academia y de la propia literatura.
Sanshiro abandonará su pueblo y viajará a Tokio, donde en un principio se verá deslumbrado y dejará al desnudo su ingenuidad. El protagonista es un ingenuo, un indeciso, un tímido casi sin voluntad, pero ya en la universidad se rodeará de artistas pretenciosos, científicos, se hará amigo de un sujeto que no por embaucador deja de ser entrañable, se enamorará por primera vez de, claro, una mujer que representa el nuevo Japón, y entablará una relación con un profesor filósofo que insiste en aislarse y que funciona como un testigo silencioso de los acontecimientos. En fin, Sanshiro es una fórmula, pero no por ello desmerece. Diría yo que es una de las grandes obras de Soseki. Se asemeja a Kokoro, pero sin el aura apesadumbrada que caracteriza aquella obra. Esta, aunque refleja angustia e incomodidad, es mucho más luminosa en tanto es también una sátira de la academia y de la propia literatura.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this book. I loved the slight comedic elements and the sparse moments of sort of philosophical discussion. The characters are all lovable to me but like life they have flaws or unexplained parts you never get to understand. I really liked professor Hirota and he was a fun character throughout the book. Also Yojiro was a fun character who made my impression of him very fluidly change. Somehow this book does slightly remind me of The Catcher in the Rye.
#JapaneseJune Book #3.
It took me a lot longer to read this book than it really should have, especially as it was on the Kindle. Thank goodness for long train journeys to and from work otherwise I might never have got to the end of this before the end of June!
I thought that Sanshiro would be right up my alley but unfortunately it wasn't. For a classic, I couldn't really understand the hype this time around. It follows the character of Sanshiro, who has moved from the countryside to the big city of Tokyo to study at university. We follow him through his various new experiences, such as riding public transport for the first time, meeting new people, his first experiences with women, intellectual stimulation, etc. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I really got to know Sanshiro, despite being stuck with him the entire book.
For the most part, I found the characters quite uninteresting and devoid of individual personality (apart from Sanshiro's closest friend Yojiro), and didn't particularly warm to any of them. Sanshiro's love interest, Mineko, I also found to be quite unappealing. Her moods irritated me, and I didn't understand Sanshiro's romantic obsession with her. It bored me more than anything else.
Not to say that this is a badly-written book - some of the descriptions and passages were very pretty and lovely to read, and there were points where I did get quite involved with certain events that happened throughout the course of the novel. However, ultimately I felt they didn't really lead to anywhere, and I was more relieved than anything else to find I'd finished the book. I actually prefered the introduction in this volume (written by the one and only Haruki Murakami!)
I wouldn't really recommend this, but I'm sure many others will find a lot more to appreciate in this book than I did.
It took me a lot longer to read this book than it really should have, especially as it was on the Kindle. Thank goodness for long train journeys to and from work otherwise I might never have got to the end of this before the end of June!
I thought that Sanshiro would be right up my alley but unfortunately it wasn't. For a classic, I couldn't really understand the hype this time around. It follows the character of Sanshiro, who has moved from the countryside to the big city of Tokyo to study at university. We follow him through his various new experiences, such as riding public transport for the first time, meeting new people, his first experiences with women, intellectual stimulation, etc. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I really got to know Sanshiro, despite being stuck with him the entire book.
For the most part, I found the characters quite uninteresting and devoid of individual personality (apart from Sanshiro's closest friend Yojiro), and didn't particularly warm to any of them. Sanshiro's love interest, Mineko, I also found to be quite unappealing. Her moods irritated me, and I didn't understand Sanshiro's romantic obsession with her. It bored me more than anything else.
Not to say that this is a badly-written book - some of the descriptions and passages were very pretty and lovely to read, and there were points where I did get quite involved with certain events that happened throughout the course of the novel. However, ultimately I felt they didn't really lead to anywhere, and I was more relieved than anything else to find I'd finished the book. I actually prefered the introduction in this volume (written by the one and only Haruki Murakami!)
I wouldn't really recommend this, but I'm sure many others will find a lot more to appreciate in this book than I did.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd like to think of myself as a poem