Botchan

Natsume Soseki author J Cohn translator J Cohn editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:4th Oct '12

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in other editions too:

Botchan cover

Botchan is a modern young man from the Tokyo metropolis, sent to the ultra-traditional Matsuyama district as a Maths teacher after his the death of his parents. Cynical, rebellious and immature, Botchan finds himself facing several tests, from the pupils - prone to playing tricks on their new, naïve teacher; the staff - vain, immoral, and in danger of becoming a bad influence on Botchan; and from his own as-yet-unformed nature, as he finds his place in the world. One of the most popular novels in Japan where it is considered a classic of adolescence, as seminal as The Catcher in the Rye, Botchan is as funny, poignant and memorable as it was when first published, over 100 years ago.

In J. Cohn's introduction to his colourful translation, he discusses Botchan's success, the book's clash between Western intellectualism and traditional Japanese values, and the importance of names and nicknames in the novel.

Soseki's lightest and funniest work -- Donald Keene
This rollicking rebel, and the spice and pace of the narrative, will appeal to parent, teacher, and schoolchild alike * Times Literary Supplement *

ISBN: 9780141391885

Dimensions: 197mm x 127mm x 10mm

Weight: 124g

160 pages