Kokoro

The Heart Of Things, Relationships & Feelings

This is a complicated review. I found and read this book because of another book I just finished reading. That title was The End of Life Book Club--a story about a mother and son who used books and reading to cope with terminal illness, loss, connection and family. They raved about this Japanese title so I found it and listened.

The writing is spare and poetic. The book was written in 1914 and offers an interesting exploration of loneliness and connection in "modern" times. These concepts are strangely applicable to our modern times. But more than this it offers deeper insight into The End of Life Book Club. Soseki speaks about not closing your life off by walling yourself in behind mountains of books. The mother and son from End of Life often lost opportunities to truly talk and connect on deeper personal levels because they focused so much on the current book. Don't get me wrong, reading and discussion of books is expansive, enriching and powerful. But, at times books became a safe haven and functioned as insulation from difficult conversations.

Back to this current book review-- Kororo is a fascinating look at life and transcends the limitations of time, culture and perspective. A universal story which has much to offer to current day readers. The reading style is soft and gentle. The story tackles difficult issues and does so with beauty and grace. An unusual book which I really enjoyed. Interesting to see that issues of coping with family and finding ways to connect with others isn't just a current day--modern problem.

29人中27人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

I wanted to stop reading but i'm glad i kept going

the beginning chapters of this book were somewhat hard to go through, they were dull and it sounded like they were just a bunch of mostly unrelated scenes, and unimportant internal dialogues, I could hardly stop myself from wanting to refund this book, this book however gave me insite to the old Japanese frame of mind, to me (a modren person) it sounded weird how the main character had this sort of attachment to his Sensi, an older male teacher and i couldn't grasp why someone would need a relationship of this sort, this book was published in 1909 where sexism against women were not something to look down upon thus there were a few lines that were quite sexist which I wasn't fond of, but i guess it's good in the sense that it shows you how cultures evolved to respect women more nowdays, despite the urge to refund this book, i kept listening and gradually grew more familiar and attached to the characters, as the story progresses I start to understand why this book was called Kokoro or "heart", the book continues as sort of confessions to what Sensi hid from his student, the plot ttwoards the end becomes intresting, i'm glad i decided to continue reading but I wouldn't recommend it to people who get bored easily.

2人中2人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

One Of The Great...

Japanese classics of teacher and student, love and tragedy. A must read when one is exploring Japanese literature

2人中2人のお客様がこのレビューが参考になったと答えています。

Hearth touching and make you in deep emotion.

I think this book is definetely one of the Japanese classic. Soseki's writing skill is impeccable.

Soseki contrasts the psych of mid and late Meiji

Soseki contrasts the psych of mid and late Meiji.

Two narrators, two stories model very interesting.

Don't need to know anything about Japan to enjoy

Soseki's Kokoro is probably THE most famous work of modern literature in Japan (everyone reads the second half of it in their school text books), but you certainly don't need to know anything about Japan or Japanese culture to enjoy and get something profound from this work. Like so many great works of fiction, it appeals to the human in everyone, and asks those questions every human struggles with, about life and death, and the ups and downs of life.

Great Book! The Weakness of Man

A great novel! This is a story about a respectable mans account of his life before he makes a great decision. A somber story that explores the frailty of mans heart, as well as his cruelty and guilt. I had no trouble listening to the novel at any point and would recommend it to anyone who can enjoy a story sprinkled with an air of sadness throughout. This novel is a classic by no mystery!

you will learn a lot from this

the books pace is slow at first and you will question where the narrative leads you but once you get into the second part and truly understand the literature you will understand the importance of this book in terms of educating humanity and morality. a story about men i would say, and the struggles with pride and dignity

Fantastic, Honest story

Who was your favorite character and why?

The concept of the book is what was important not any 1 character.

Any additional comments?

IMO a nice book It touches on a few concepts of the human heart and stays there. Not as involved or complex but it's an honest story about few not many and was told well with that in mind.