Reviews

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki

acertaineh's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lilyphilia's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The reason why I fell in love with Japanese literature.

urbino's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

lovebugx's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

about the weight that heart carries through the entirety of life, or maybe even of humanity as whole. wonderful in its simplicity, and nothing less is to be expected from sōseki.

lonodopo's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

errski's review

5.0

I loved this book. The story is about a young man who meets an older man who he calls Sensei. The novel puts these two stories together, but really this is a story about how the older man, Sensei, has developed distrust in humanity. It's hard to think that Soseki could put so much into a novel that reads so simply, but he did. The ending is blunt, and even when I could see the story progressing to this point, it still hit me hard

Spoiler

(K's suicide, after reading that line in the book I had to put the book down for a few minutes before I read the rest of the chapter, and the eventual suicide of Sensei at the end)

. There is a lot of depth of feelings, through the point of view of the young man and through the point of view of Sensei's story.

It's hard to explain exactly what it was, but the book, although sad, was just a great read. If you're looking for a page-turner, you're in the wrong place, but if you're looking for something thought provoking, then please read this book. I also enjoyed the translators introduction of the book that I read, I thought it added a lot of insight about the author, the culture, and the time period that the book was written especially for someone who is inexperienced with the culture/history or Japan.

meryfergui's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

meryfergui's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

autumndream's review against another edition

4.0

Memorable Quote:
"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

marinoanduaga's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25