Sanshiro

9/10

Published in 1908 by Natsume Soseki.

As always, spoilers.

I delayed this review in part because I have little to say, but I do want to record what little is there. I really like Sanshiro—I picked it on a whim, seeing a translation by Jay Rubin of Murakami fame (to me), and an introduction by Haruki (also of Murakami fame), as well as a neat little cover art that the Penguin Classics version sports. I must’ve bought it in October or so and somewhat ignored it till recently, what with grad apps and classes and all that, but now I have more time to read and do things I enjoy instead of class so I sat down this week and polished it off. I didn’t have super high expectations—I hadn’t read anything by Soseki but I knew he was famous—but I didn’t have low expectations either, especially after reading part of Murakami’s introduction.

It is a classical coming of age story, except the characters do not “come of age” insofar as they resign themselves to their fates as opposed to the bildungsroman conclusion of full growth: Sanshiro and Mineko fall for each other but both let it sit there and before long their love is shattered by circumstance and society. Sanshiro grows, to be sure, but not anywhere close to the extent necessary to classify the story as a bildungsroman as he ends the story a child still. There are two more novels though, so perhaps as a totality they cover Sanshiro’s Bildung.

Sanshiro is an extremely interesting character, a country boy without “modern” or city sensibilities, who is mostly honest when he isn’t clueless and playing along—the latter in part because he is a coward. The story is wonderful from Sanshiro’s view as Soseki generally analyzes or deconstructs various aspects of his life in early 20th century Japan. All the characters and side-plots are entertaining or intriguing, and the book keeps good pace.

I like this a bit more than Catcher in the Rye—while they aren’t exactly in the same category, I like Soseki’s language and wit slightly more than Salinger’s. Both are must reads though, especially if one is at a similar stage of life as the characters like I am.