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And Then
"A Japanese writer of genius."—Japan Quarterly
Soseki Natsume is considered to be one of Japan's most beloved and respected authors. And Then is ranked as one of his most insightful and stirring novels.
Daisuke, the protagonist, is a man in his twenties who is struggling with his personal purpose and identity as well as the changing social landscape of Meiji-era Japan. As Japan enters the Twentieth Century, ancient customs give way to western ideals, and Daisuke works to resolve his feelings of disconnection and abandonment during this time of change. Thanks to his father's wealth, Daisuke has the luxury of having time to develop his philosophies and ruminate on their meaning while remaining intellectually aloof from traditional Japanese culture and the demands of growing industrialization. Then Daisuke's life takes an unexpected turn when he is reunited with his college friend and his sickly wife. At first, Daisuke's stoicism allows him to act according to his intellect, but his intellectual fortress begins to show its vulnerabilities as his emotions start to hold greater sway over his inner life. Daisuke must now weigh his choices in a culture that has always operated on the razor's edge of societal obligation and personal freedom.
Soseki Natsume is considered to be one of Japan's most beloved and respected authors. And Then is ranked as one of his most insightful and stirring novels.
Daisuke, the protagonist, is a man in his twenties who is struggling with his personal purpose and identity as well as the changing social landscape of Meiji-era Japan. As Japan enters the Twentieth Century, ancient customs give way to western ideals, and Daisuke works to resolve his feelings of disconnection and abandonment during this time of change. Thanks to his father's wealth, Daisuke has the luxury of having time to develop his philosophies and ruminate on their meaning while remaining intellectually aloof from traditional Japanese culture and the demands of growing industrialization. Then Daisuke's life takes an unexpected turn when he is reunited with his college friend and his sickly wife. At first, Daisuke's stoicism allows him to act according to his intellect, but his intellectual fortress begins to show its vulnerabilities as his emotions start to hold greater sway over his inner life. Daisuke must now weigh his choices in a culture that has always operated on the razor's edge of societal obligation and personal freedom.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1909
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5712 people want to read
About the author
Natsume Sōseki
886 books3,289 followersNatsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石), born Natsume Kinnosuke (夏目 金之助), was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, kanshi, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1000 yen note. In Japan, he is often considered the greatest writer in modern Japanese history. He has had a profound effect on almost all important Japanese writers since.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews
August 26, 2024
Unknowingly I started this trilogy with the middle book! I did not feel I missed anything by not having read the first volume.
[Edited to hide spoilers 8/26/24]
This is the story of a Japanese man who is 30 years old, educated and generous, but he’s pretty much a wimp. He has never worked, relying instead on monthly support from his rich father. His father has said he will always support him and that his son's not working if fine but he wishes he would do SOMETHING to help people or help his country.
The man is socially timid and a bit of a hypochondriac. He considers himself a “born vacillator” and recognizes that his life is full of “purposeless acts” but he does nothing to change anything. He has too much time on his hands and struggles to fill his days with walks and museum visits. He feels “cold indifference” to his father but does what he says because of his financial dependence.
The father also pressures him to get married and leans on the man’s brother and the brother’s wife to set him up with appropriate women.
That quest to find a female is not going well. The young man occasionally goes to prostitutes but the main thing is he’s still in love with a woman from the old days who married a friend of his – if fact, he set them up.
I got a kick out of this metaphor: “When he awoke the next morning, he still felt as if rings with unequal radii portioned his brain into two layers.”
One of the big themes in the author’s writing is his anti-westernization. We see a bit of that in this book, but to be honest, not a lot. On occasion when talking with others or in his private thought, the main character feels that his country’s pursuit of western values has brought financial debt, physical and mental decline, a decline in morality and “anxiety.” But I would not say that his feelings about westernization are a major theme in this book; they are mentioned in passing.
During his relatively short life (50 years, 1867-1916) the author wrote about two dozen novels and became Japan’s most famous author. He is credited with bringing the modern realistic novel into Japanese literature. Haruki Murakami said he is his favorite writer. The three novels in the trilogy I referred to are Sanshirō (which I have not read), And Then, and The Gate. I also enjoyed two other novels by Soseki: Kokoro and Botchan.
Photo of Tokyo in the early 1900's from huffingtonpost.com
The author on a 1000 yen Japanese bill from britannica.com
[Edited to hide spoilers 8/26/24]
This is the story of a Japanese man who is 30 years old, educated and generous, but he’s pretty much a wimp. He has never worked, relying instead on monthly support from his rich father. His father has said he will always support him and that his son's not working if fine but he wishes he would do SOMETHING to help people or help his country.
The man is socially timid and a bit of a hypochondriac. He considers himself a “born vacillator” and recognizes that his life is full of “purposeless acts” but he does nothing to change anything. He has too much time on his hands and struggles to fill his days with walks and museum visits. He feels “cold indifference” to his father but does what he says because of his financial dependence.
The father also pressures him to get married and leans on the man’s brother and the brother’s wife to set him up with appropriate women.
That quest to find a female is not going well. The young man occasionally goes to prostitutes but the main thing is he’s still in love with a woman from the old days who married a friend of his – if fact, he set them up.
I got a kick out of this metaphor: “When he awoke the next morning, he still felt as if rings with unequal radii portioned his brain into two layers.”
One of the big themes in the author’s writing is his anti-westernization. We see a bit of that in this book, but to be honest, not a lot. On occasion when talking with others or in his private thought, the main character feels that his country’s pursuit of western values has brought financial debt, physical and mental decline, a decline in morality and “anxiety.” But I would not say that his feelings about westernization are a major theme in this book; they are mentioned in passing.
During his relatively short life (50 years, 1867-1916) the author wrote about two dozen novels and became Japan’s most famous author. He is credited with bringing the modern realistic novel into Japanese literature. Haruki Murakami said he is his favorite writer. The three novels in the trilogy I referred to are Sanshirō (which I have not read), And Then, and The Gate. I also enjoyed two other novels by Soseki: Kokoro and Botchan.
Photo of Tokyo in the early 1900's from huffingtonpost.com
The author on a 1000 yen Japanese bill from britannica.com
December 22, 2025
Daisuke is a well-to-do neurasthenic living in Tokyo soon after the Russo-Japanese War (1905). He gets money from his rich father, who belittles his layout lifestyle, and is something of a dilettante. The novel is character-driven and without much plot.
The astonishing technical achievement is the detail of his life. His movements around Tokyo, his chic home — all vividly shown. A portrait near-Jamesian in its detail, including social tensions, states of mind.
This was written late during the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) which marked with the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the return of imperial rule, leading to rapid modernization and Westernization.
Japan at this time wants to be viewed as a first-rank nation, yet is deeply indebted to its Western models. This view of Japan as a phony nation shames protagonist Daisuke, who feels his choice not to work is a result of Japanese hypocrisy.
He is a pessimist, utterly lacking in sympathy for his fellow man. He’s selfish. He suffers and doubts the worth of his own existence. Is mired in tautologies. ChatGPT says:
“Sōseki is deliberately trapping you inside a mind that cannot move forward because it keeps re-proving what it already knows. Daisuke’s thinking circles because Western ethical rationalism gives him no lever for action — only justification after justification.” (My query)
The novel is in a sense like a reverse-Jane Austen, in which possible marriage partners are pressed on Daisuke, all of whom he firmly rejects. The novel was published in 1908: at that time marriage was virtually a social requirement. For a man like Daisuki not to be married at age 30 is approaching scandalous.
But he is not homosexual. He is a frequenter of geisha, though this aspect of his life is backgrounded, and he’s in love with the delightful Michiyo, the wife of a friend. It is then, after long development, the novel becomes a story of star-crossed love.
The astonishing technical achievement is the detail of his life. His movements around Tokyo, his chic home — all vividly shown. A portrait near-Jamesian in its detail, including social tensions, states of mind.
This was written late during the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) which marked with the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the return of imperial rule, leading to rapid modernization and Westernization.
Japan at this time wants to be viewed as a first-rank nation, yet is deeply indebted to its Western models. This view of Japan as a phony nation shames protagonist Daisuke, who feels his choice not to work is a result of Japanese hypocrisy.
He is a pessimist, utterly lacking in sympathy for his fellow man. He’s selfish. He suffers and doubts the worth of his own existence. Is mired in tautologies. ChatGPT says:
“Sōseki is deliberately trapping you inside a mind that cannot move forward because it keeps re-proving what it already knows. Daisuke’s thinking circles because Western ethical rationalism gives him no lever for action — only justification after justification.” (My query)
The novel is in a sense like a reverse-Jane Austen, in which possible marriage partners are pressed on Daisuke, all of whom he firmly rejects. The novel was published in 1908: at that time marriage was virtually a social requirement. For a man like Daisuki not to be married at age 30 is approaching scandalous.
But he is not homosexual. He is a frequenter of geisha, though this aspect of his life is backgrounded, and he’s in love with the delightful Michiyo, the wife of a friend. It is then, after long development, the novel becomes a story of star-crossed love.
January 17, 2022
Daisuke otuz yaşında, işsiz.
İşsiz ama kendini geçindirebiliyor, daha doğrusu ailesi ona bakıyor.
Daisuke eğitimli, meraklı, okumayı seven biri aynı zamanda. Elbette topluma göre ters tarafları var.
Ama o, toplumun düşüncelerini de ailesinin ‘artık evlensen mi- iş mi bulsan’ cümlelerini de önemsemiyor.
Çünkü inandığı değerler var. Örneğin borçlar içinde olan bir ülkede çalışmanın mantıklı olduğunu düşünmüyor veya sadece karnını doyurmak için bir işte çalışıyor olmanın onurlu olabileceğine de itimat etmiyor.
Etmiyor da…Bazen beklenmedik şeyler çıkıveriyor insanın karşısına: Aşk gibi.
.
‘Ardından’ klasik bir Soseki çizgisinde. Yazarın diğer kitapları ile uyum içinde olmasıyla birlikte bana üç kitabı daha anımsattı: toplumun çalışma yönündeki dayatmalarını eleştirmesi yönünden Paul Lafargue’den Tembellik Hakkı’nı, Daisuke’nin varsıl bir aile kökeninden gelmesi-günlerini kendine dönük geçirmesi yönünden Gonçarov’dan Oblomov’u ve Daisuke’nin eylemsizliği yönünden de Melville’den Kâtip Bartleby’i.
Ardından’ı farklı kılan, kitabı parlatan başka bir şey daha var: kitabın geçtiği dönemin Japonya’sını satır aralarında didik didik etmek! Batı özentiliğinden ekonominin kötüye gidişine, kurumlar arasındaki yozlaşmadan toplumun giderek bireyselliğe dönüşüne dair çok çarpıcı noktalar barındırıyor Ardından.
.
Soseki benim gözümde çok çalışkan, derli toplu ve açık bir yazar. Küçük Bey, Gönül, Ben Bir Kediyim ve dilimize çevrilen diğer eserlerini okurken de büyük bir haz almıştım. Bu eseri de beni şaşırtmadı. Kesinlikle tavsiye ederim!
.
Habibe Salğar’ın çevirisi ve önsözüyle ~
Kapakta ise Tsuçiya Koitsu’nun illüstrasyonu yer almakta (İthaki Japon Klasikleri serisiyle olduğu kadar kapaklarındaki seçimleri ile de göz dolduruyor!)
İşsiz ama kendini geçindirebiliyor, daha doğrusu ailesi ona bakıyor.
Daisuke eğitimli, meraklı, okumayı seven biri aynı zamanda. Elbette topluma göre ters tarafları var.
Ama o, toplumun düşüncelerini de ailesinin ‘artık evlensen mi- iş mi bulsan’ cümlelerini de önemsemiyor.
Çünkü inandığı değerler var. Örneğin borçlar içinde olan bir ülkede çalışmanın mantıklı olduğunu düşünmüyor veya sadece karnını doyurmak için bir işte çalışıyor olmanın onurlu olabileceğine de itimat etmiyor.
Etmiyor da…Bazen beklenmedik şeyler çıkıveriyor insanın karşısına: Aşk gibi.
.
‘Ardından’ klasik bir Soseki çizgisinde. Yazarın diğer kitapları ile uyum içinde olmasıyla birlikte bana üç kitabı daha anımsattı: toplumun çalışma yönündeki dayatmalarını eleştirmesi yönünden Paul Lafargue’den Tembellik Hakkı’nı, Daisuke’nin varsıl bir aile kökeninden gelmesi-günlerini kendine dönük geçirmesi yönünden Gonçarov’dan Oblomov’u ve Daisuke’nin eylemsizliği yönünden de Melville’den Kâtip Bartleby’i.
Ardından’ı farklı kılan, kitabı parlatan başka bir şey daha var: kitabın geçtiği dönemin Japonya’sını satır aralarında didik didik etmek! Batı özentiliğinden ekonominin kötüye gidişine, kurumlar arasındaki yozlaşmadan toplumun giderek bireyselliğe dönüşüne dair çok çarpıcı noktalar barındırıyor Ardından.
.
Soseki benim gözümde çok çalışkan, derli toplu ve açık bir yazar. Küçük Bey, Gönül, Ben Bir Kediyim ve dilimize çevrilen diğer eserlerini okurken de büyük bir haz almıştım. Bu eseri de beni şaşırtmadı. Kesinlikle tavsiye ederim!
.
Habibe Salğar’ın çevirisi ve önsözüyle ~
Kapakta ise Tsuçiya Koitsu’nun illüstrasyonu yer almakta (İthaki Japon Klasikleri serisiyle olduğu kadar kapaklarındaki seçimleri ile de göz dolduruyor!)
June 6, 2022
Soseki en sevdiğim Japon yazarlardan birisi. Bu kitabında, Meici döneminin sosyal ve kültürel karmaşasında, geleneksel ve modern arasında köprü kurmaya ve çelişkileri tespit ederek çözümler bulma çabasında olan bir yazar.
Bu kitabında da, diğer bir çok kitabında olduğu gibi, derin felsefi ve sosyolojik analizler ve derin psikolojik gözlemlemeler var. Metin, sade ve akıcı.
Kitap, aynen Yazarın Gönül adlı romanında olduğu gibi; yalnızlık, ihanet ve sadakat temalarının işlendiği bir hikayeyi konu alıyor. Kötülerle dolu bir dünyada, iyi ve karakterli birisinin dünyası.
Beğendim.
Ancak, çevirinin başarısı hakkında bir şey söylemem mümkün değilse de, kötü bir Türkçe ile yazılmış olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Cümleler net değil. Bir çok anlama gelebilecek şekilde yazıldığı için dikkatle okumak gerekiyor. Bu nedenle de bazı bölümleri anlamakta zorluk çektiğimi söylemem gerek. Ayrıca, dilbilgisi ve yazım hataları var. Dolayısıyla özensiz bir editoryal çalışma. Baskı ve kapak da çok özensiz. Bu nedenle, Yayınevinin bu çalışmasını beğenmedim.
“… Japonya’nın batıyla ilişkileri kötü olduğu için çalışmıyorum. Birincisi, Japonya kadar borçlanıp fakirlikten titreyen başka bir ülke yok! Bu postları ne zaman ödeyebileceğimizi düşünüyorsun? Yani, yabancı tahvil kadar kadara ödenebilir. Fakat sadece borç almakta mesele değil ki. Japonya batıdan borç almazsa asla ayakta kalabilecek bir ülke değil! Üstelik birinci sınıf ülkeler gibi davranıyor. Zorla birinci sınıf ülkelerin arasına karışmaya çalışıyor. Bu nedenle ne tarafa dönsek, derine inmeden sadece birinci sınıf ülkeler arasında olalım kaydet çıkıyor. Düşünmeden hareket edilmesi daha da feci! İnek ile yarışa giren kurbağa misali, Japonya’nın artık midesi çatlayacak. Bunun hepimizin, bizlerin, bireylerin üzerindeki etkisine bir baksana! Batı baskısı altındaki milletlerin kafaları rahat olmayınca doğru düzgün iş yapmazlar. Bir hayli kısıtlanmış bir eğitim alıyorlar, başları dönene kadar burunlarını bileme taşına sürüyorlar bu yüzden hepsi sinir krizi geçiriyor. Konuşunca bak, hepsi aptal. Bugün, o an, kendilerinin ötesinde bir şey düşünmezler. Başka bir şey düşünemeyecek kadar yorgunlar; yapacak bir şey yok. Ne yazıkki ruhun tükenmesi ve bedenin bozulması elele gelir. Ve hepsi bu değil. Ahlakın çöküşü de başladı. Japonya’da nereye bakarsan bak, dört bir tarafta hareketlilik! Bu tam bir karanlık! İkisi arasında tek başıma dururken ne demişim, ne yapmışım hiçbir anlamı yok!…”, sf; 100,
“… İnsanların birbirine karşı hissettiği şüphe duygusunun verdiği acıyı ortadan kaldırmak için tanrı kavramının yaratıldığına inanırdı. Bu nedenle, tanrı inancının olduğu ülkelerde insanların yalan söyledigini düşünürdü…”,sf; 149,
“… Ancak önemli bir konuma sahip olan insanların samimiyetsizliğinin de, meteliksiz kalan insanların nezaketinin de sonuçta birbirinden çok da farklı olmadığını düşünmeye başlamıştı…”, sf; 275,
“… mektubun devamı epey uzundu ancak kadın olduğu için genellikle yazdıkları tekrardan öteye gitmiyordu…”, sf; 288.
Bu kitabında da, diğer bir çok kitabında olduğu gibi, derin felsefi ve sosyolojik analizler ve derin psikolojik gözlemlemeler var. Metin, sade ve akıcı.
Kitap, aynen Yazarın Gönül adlı romanında olduğu gibi; yalnızlık, ihanet ve sadakat temalarının işlendiği bir hikayeyi konu alıyor. Kötülerle dolu bir dünyada, iyi ve karakterli birisinin dünyası.
Beğendim.
Ancak, çevirinin başarısı hakkında bir şey söylemem mümkün değilse de, kötü bir Türkçe ile yazılmış olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Cümleler net değil. Bir çok anlama gelebilecek şekilde yazıldığı için dikkatle okumak gerekiyor. Bu nedenle de bazı bölümleri anlamakta zorluk çektiğimi söylemem gerek. Ayrıca, dilbilgisi ve yazım hataları var. Dolayısıyla özensiz bir editoryal çalışma. Baskı ve kapak da çok özensiz. Bu nedenle, Yayınevinin bu çalışmasını beğenmedim.
“… Japonya’nın batıyla ilişkileri kötü olduğu için çalışmıyorum. Birincisi, Japonya kadar borçlanıp fakirlikten titreyen başka bir ülke yok! Bu postları ne zaman ödeyebileceğimizi düşünüyorsun? Yani, yabancı tahvil kadar kadara ödenebilir. Fakat sadece borç almakta mesele değil ki. Japonya batıdan borç almazsa asla ayakta kalabilecek bir ülke değil! Üstelik birinci sınıf ülkeler gibi davranıyor. Zorla birinci sınıf ülkelerin arasına karışmaya çalışıyor. Bu nedenle ne tarafa dönsek, derine inmeden sadece birinci sınıf ülkeler arasında olalım kaydet çıkıyor. Düşünmeden hareket edilmesi daha da feci! İnek ile yarışa giren kurbağa misali, Japonya’nın artık midesi çatlayacak. Bunun hepimizin, bizlerin, bireylerin üzerindeki etkisine bir baksana! Batı baskısı altındaki milletlerin kafaları rahat olmayınca doğru düzgün iş yapmazlar. Bir hayli kısıtlanmış bir eğitim alıyorlar, başları dönene kadar burunlarını bileme taşına sürüyorlar bu yüzden hepsi sinir krizi geçiriyor. Konuşunca bak, hepsi aptal. Bugün, o an, kendilerinin ötesinde bir şey düşünmezler. Başka bir şey düşünemeyecek kadar yorgunlar; yapacak bir şey yok. Ne yazıkki ruhun tükenmesi ve bedenin bozulması elele gelir. Ve hepsi bu değil. Ahlakın çöküşü de başladı. Japonya’da nereye bakarsan bak, dört bir tarafta hareketlilik! Bu tam bir karanlık! İkisi arasında tek başıma dururken ne demişim, ne yapmışım hiçbir anlamı yok!…”, sf; 100,
“… İnsanların birbirine karşı hissettiği şüphe duygusunun verdiği acıyı ortadan kaldırmak için tanrı kavramının yaratıldığına inanırdı. Bu nedenle, tanrı inancının olduğu ülkelerde insanların yalan söyledigini düşünürdü…”,sf; 149,
“… Ancak önemli bir konuma sahip olan insanların samimiyetsizliğinin de, meteliksiz kalan insanların nezaketinin de sonuçta birbirinden çok da farklı olmadığını düşünmeye başlamıştı…”, sf; 275,
“… mektubun devamı epey uzundu ancak kadın olduğu için genellikle yazdıkları tekrardan öteye gitmiyordu…”, sf; 288.
August 25, 2018
A Note on Japanese Names
--And Then
Afterword, by Norma Moore Field
Selected Bibliography
--And Then
Afterword, by Norma Moore Field
Selected Bibliography
May 26, 2019
I'll admit, I read this book as a person thoroughly out of time and out of context. I might even say, I read this book as a child of the 80s.
The book introduces us to Daisuke, a well-educated thirty-year-old who spends his days reading books, playing games of Go with his servant, and finding ways to shirk his responsibility to his family to marry a suitable girl who will help preserve the family's fortune. And he does this all while mooching off his family's money.
As I read this book, I had a very clear image of Daisuke, the Japanese Meiji era hero, an effete, self-professed coward who regards work merely for sustenance as something dirty (he also enjoys flower arrangements and long silent stares at girls he's attracted to), coming face to face with the robust "hero" of the 1980s. Perhaps a Sly Stallone or an Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie would be an incredibly short one. The announcer says, "Coming this fall, Arnold faces his biggest challenge yet. A college seminar on Natsume Soseki." Arnold reads a passage from the book (in his deep Austrian accent of course) about Daisuke arranging flowers and blushing and his head spontaneously explodes...The End.
I think perhaps that even readers of Soseki's time might have struggled with Daisuke as a protagonist because of his cowardice. Certainly, his cowardice is not unfounded. Daisuke struggles (as we all do) with the contradictions between what society demands of him and his own personal desires. As a character who is estranged from his world and highly contemplative, Daisuke is able to offer poignant critiques but has no enduring answers. In this way, he is not unlike Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye and Mark Renton from Trainspotting. The similarities are so striking that I would encourage anyone to read one or both of these books side-by-side with And Then.
Each character tries to find his own escape from these contradictions: Holden tries an escapade through New York; Renton tries to escape through heroine, and Daisuke tries to maintain a kind of null space between the demands of society and his own personal desires by putting off getting married and living off his family's wealth.
[Another interesting similarity: where Holden Caulfield has the infamous scene with the prostitute, the novel makes reference to Daisuke's debauchery with Geisha; the implication in both works is that paying women for their services is a much more honest way to live].
In the end, though, even though Daisuke is the most outright cowardly in character, he is the one (in contrast to Holden Caulfield and Mark Renton) who eventually faces his situation head on and accepts the consequences.
If you can struggle through the slow pacing, perhaps some personal aversion you might have for the main character, and cultural nuances that may seem strange, then you will find a surprisingly relevant (universal?) story about the tension between societal demands and personal desire.
The "Afterward" section in my edition (written by Norma Moore Field) was excellent and gave a full biography of Natsume Soseki and his work. After I had read the book, it helped me situate this novel in Soseki's biography and his overall body of work. You may want to consider reading this section first if you are unfamiliar with Soseki's works.
The book introduces us to Daisuke, a well-educated thirty-year-old who spends his days reading books, playing games of Go with his servant, and finding ways to shirk his responsibility to his family to marry a suitable girl who will help preserve the family's fortune. And he does this all while mooching off his family's money.
As I read this book, I had a very clear image of Daisuke, the Japanese Meiji era hero, an effete, self-professed coward who regards work merely for sustenance as something dirty (he also enjoys flower arrangements and long silent stares at girls he's attracted to), coming face to face with the robust "hero" of the 1980s. Perhaps a Sly Stallone or an Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie would be an incredibly short one. The announcer says, "Coming this fall, Arnold faces his biggest challenge yet. A college seminar on Natsume Soseki." Arnold reads a passage from the book (in his deep Austrian accent of course) about Daisuke arranging flowers and blushing and his head spontaneously explodes...The End.
I think perhaps that even readers of Soseki's time might have struggled with Daisuke as a protagonist because of his cowardice. Certainly, his cowardice is not unfounded. Daisuke struggles (as we all do) with the contradictions between what society demands of him and his own personal desires. As a character who is estranged from his world and highly contemplative, Daisuke is able to offer poignant critiques but has no enduring answers. In this way, he is not unlike Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye and Mark Renton from Trainspotting. The similarities are so striking that I would encourage anyone to read one or both of these books side-by-side with And Then.
Each character tries to find his own escape from these contradictions: Holden tries an escapade through New York; Renton tries to escape through heroine, and Daisuke tries to maintain a kind of null space between the demands of society and his own personal desires by putting off getting married and living off his family's wealth.
[Another interesting similarity: where Holden Caulfield has the infamous scene with the prostitute, the novel makes reference to Daisuke's debauchery with Geisha; the implication in both works is that paying women for their services is a much more honest way to live].
In the end, though, even though Daisuke is the most outright cowardly in character, he is the one (in contrast to Holden Caulfield and Mark Renton) who eventually faces his situation head on and accepts the consequences.
If you can struggle through the slow pacing, perhaps some personal aversion you might have for the main character, and cultural nuances that may seem strange, then you will find a surprisingly relevant (universal?) story about the tension between societal demands and personal desire.
The "Afterward" section in my edition (written by Norma Moore Field) was excellent and gave a full biography of Natsume Soseki and his work. After I had read the book, it helped me situate this novel in Soseki's biography and his overall body of work. You may want to consider reading this section first if you are unfamiliar with Soseki's works.
July 12, 2025
Snares
And Then tells the story of Daisuke Nagai, the nonchalant kept son of an affluent businessman, whose lifestyle and interests made him growingly disengaged from early 20th century, modernizing Japan.
What stands out at first is Daisuke's paramount need for quiet and peace, asserted repeatedly in the course of the novel, to the point of his postponing any pending question, say marriage, work, any remote vision of what the future holds in store for him... A craving for peace (stasis?) often compared to that of throwing himself in a pool of deep blue water ; and often likened to Daisuke's taste for sleeping in the vicinity of fragrant flowers.
One is led to wonder about the origins of such avolition, such an estrangement from the world, such a godless quietism(?). To begin with, the reasons behind this state of withdrawal are only alluded to, merely to make it obvious that Daisuke does not explore the psychological and emotional foundations underlying his self-styled, self-aggrandizing wits and logics.
Is there something he is hiding to himself?
Throughout the novel, Daisuke seems to only behave towards others as though he were engaging in a stylistic exercise in equanimity or indifference, playing an equilibrist performance of keeping what he views as personal integrity, while dancing around the expectations his homologues weave around him : close enough not to cause their anger and in turn, total exclusion from his family, far enough to keep responsibilities and compromises at bay. To me, Daisuke is on a quest to find a sort of ataraxia, or a balance between him and the circumstances, looking to perpetually adapt to his interlocutor.
These specific traits made it impossible for me not to remember Kiyoaki, the main protagonist of Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, a character only complexified by Daisuke’s avowed distaste for all sorts of religious spirituality. For him, gods only exist because faithfulness doesn’t, and men are distrustful and deceitful towards one another. This spiritual vacuity goes along with a strong malaise burdening Daisuke when he is faced by the fundamental contradiction between traditional Japanese values and the realities of Westernized modern Japan (greed, speculating, business). At the same time, Daisuke’s relationship with his father reminds me of Kokoro and the strained relation between the young man and his father most powerfully.
The story of And Then also focuses on a degraded, strained relationship between Daisuke and old friend Hiraoka, although Daisuke helped him actively during his marriage with mutual friend Michiyo five years before the events. How puzzling! Is the armour Daisuke wears designed as a mere facade? How much Daisuke is truly averse to change and move, how much is he offended by rapidly modernizing Japan? Is he a ‘‘closet conformist’’ ? (‘Daisuke was convinced that no morality found its source elsewhere than in social realities’).
On the other hand, Daisuke seems to deem a wife with personal ties to her husband — instead of merely familial ties — very highly. In early 20th century Japan, is he looking for a chimera?
In turn, it makes you wonder about the true reasons behind Daisuke helping Hiraoka and Chimiyo marrying in the past. Was it out of friendship for Hiraoka?... then why does the friendship strain and wears out so… ? Masochism? Why did Daisuke leave Michiyo marry Hiraoka without voicing any sort of dissent if he knew he loved her back then already? Why not express his love first? Very reminiscent of Kokoro indeed…
About Hiraoka: During the dialogue Daisuke has with him when he decided to confess his love for Chimiyo, to me, Hiraoka felt egregiously indolent and vapid, hollow. I wouldn’t have expected such a lack of reaction from someone who lived with Chimiyo for 5 years as a husband. To the point of excusing himself, admitting he doesn’t love Chimiyo and accepts abandonning her to Daisuke?... To me, Hiraoka also lacks when it comes to his reasons for abandonning Michiyo to Daisuke. Is is merely about a life of bachelor freedom? For his job? To have more leverage to denounce the corruption of the Nagai empire owned by Daisuke’s father?... I'm not half convinced.
➤ In the end, what is And Then?
The narrative developping from the contraction between different notions of modern life? Different notions of friendship? Different notions of personal integrity and interpersonal honour? Between collective principles ruling olden Japan and businesslike values, commercialism in modern Japan?
Witnessing Daisuke getting gradually consumed by his torments, brought by devouring love-passion, from embers to being quite literaly kindled. While the selfsame Daisuke professed he longed for constant peace? Was it a craving for death in disguise? Is his final ignition a contradiction or a mere prolongation of Daisuke’s fundamental desires?
➤ Among the themes I enjoyed the most: the naturalist and sensual descriptions, the dark, disquieting descriptions each time the main character rides or even merely approach a tramway — is it linked to Daisuke’s innermost desire for stability within a floating, gyrating, mutable world? — , the unmatchable might of the final pages,
Is it truly such a radical change in the main character or a simple development of pre-existing, underlying tendencies? In any case, the gathering momentum is nothing short of awe-inspiring when the novel comes to an end.
See also:
Kokoro
Neige de printemps
Under the Volcano
Madame Bovary
L'Éducation sentimentale
Bartleby the Scrivener
Notes from Underground
L'Amour et l'Occident
A Confederacy of Dunces
Les Voyages du fils
La Montagne magique
La nausée
Uzumaki
And Then tells the story of Daisuke Nagai, the nonchalant kept son of an affluent businessman, whose lifestyle and interests made him growingly disengaged from early 20th century, modernizing Japan.
What stands out at first is Daisuke's paramount need for quiet and peace, asserted repeatedly in the course of the novel, to the point of his postponing any pending question, say marriage, work, any remote vision of what the future holds in store for him... A craving for peace (stasis?) often compared to that of throwing himself in a pool of deep blue water ; and often likened to Daisuke's taste for sleeping in the vicinity of fragrant flowers.
One is led to wonder about the origins of such avolition, such an estrangement from the world, such a godless quietism(?). To begin with, the reasons behind this state of withdrawal are only alluded to, merely to make it obvious that Daisuke does not explore the psychological and emotional foundations underlying his self-styled, self-aggrandizing wits and logics.
Is there something he is hiding to himself?
Throughout the novel, Daisuke seems to only behave towards others as though he were engaging in a stylistic exercise in equanimity or indifference, playing an equilibrist performance of keeping what he views as personal integrity, while dancing around the expectations his homologues weave around him : close enough not to cause their anger and in turn, total exclusion from his family, far enough to keep responsibilities and compromises at bay. To me, Daisuke is on a quest to find a sort of ataraxia, or a balance between him and the circumstances, looking to perpetually adapt to his interlocutor.
These specific traits made it impossible for me not to remember Kiyoaki, the main protagonist of Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, a character only complexified by Daisuke’s avowed distaste for all sorts of religious spirituality. For him, gods only exist because faithfulness doesn’t, and men are distrustful and deceitful towards one another. This spiritual vacuity goes along with a strong malaise burdening Daisuke when he is faced by the fundamental contradiction between traditional Japanese values and the realities of Westernized modern Japan (greed, speculating, business). At the same time, Daisuke’s relationship with his father reminds me of Kokoro and the strained relation between the young man and his father most powerfully.
The story of And Then also focuses on a degraded, strained relationship between Daisuke and old friend Hiraoka, although Daisuke helped him actively during his marriage with mutual friend Michiyo five years before the events. How puzzling! Is the armour Daisuke wears designed as a mere facade? How much Daisuke is truly averse to change and move, how much is he offended by rapidly modernizing Japan? Is he a ‘‘closet conformist’’ ? (‘Daisuke was convinced that no morality found its source elsewhere than in social realities’).
On the other hand, Daisuke seems to deem a wife with personal ties to her husband — instead of merely familial ties — very highly. In early 20th century Japan, is he looking for a chimera?
In turn, it makes you wonder about the true reasons behind Daisuke helping Hiraoka and Chimiyo marrying in the past. Was it out of friendship for Hiraoka?... then why does the friendship strain and wears out so… ? Masochism? Why did Daisuke leave Michiyo marry Hiraoka without voicing any sort of dissent if he knew he loved her back then already? Why not express his love first? Very reminiscent of Kokoro indeed…
About Hiraoka: During the dialogue Daisuke has with him when he decided to confess his love for Chimiyo, to me, Hiraoka felt egregiously indolent and vapid, hollow. I wouldn’t have expected such a lack of reaction from someone who lived with Chimiyo for 5 years as a husband. To the point of excusing himself, admitting he doesn’t love Chimiyo and accepts abandonning her to Daisuke?... To me, Hiraoka also lacks when it comes to his reasons for abandonning Michiyo to Daisuke. Is is merely about a life of bachelor freedom? For his job? To have more leverage to denounce the corruption of the Nagai empire owned by Daisuke’s father?... I'm not half convinced.
➤ In the end, what is And Then?
The narrative developping from the contraction between different notions of modern life? Different notions of friendship? Different notions of personal integrity and interpersonal honour? Between collective principles ruling olden Japan and businesslike values, commercialism in modern Japan?
Witnessing Daisuke getting gradually consumed by his torments, brought by devouring love-passion, from embers to being quite literaly kindled. While the selfsame Daisuke professed he longed for constant peace? Was it a craving for death in disguise? Is his final ignition a contradiction or a mere prolongation of Daisuke’s fundamental desires?
➤ Among the themes I enjoyed the most: the naturalist and sensual descriptions, the dark, disquieting descriptions each time the main character rides or even merely approach a tramway — is it linked to Daisuke’s innermost desire for stability within a floating, gyrating, mutable world? — , the unmatchable might of the final pages,
Is it truly such a radical change in the main character or a simple development of pre-existing, underlying tendencies? In any case, the gathering momentum is nothing short of awe-inspiring when the novel comes to an end.
See also:
Kokoro
Neige de printemps
Under the Volcano
Madame Bovary
L'Éducation sentimentale
Bartleby the Scrivener
Notes from Underground
L'Amour et l'Occident
A Confederacy of Dunces
Les Voyages du fils
La Montagne magique
La nausée
Uzumaki
February 21, 2017
Another story about the doomed love between two flawed people and how love doesn't save anyone in the end...
And the movie adaptation is simply unforgettable:
Even the movie soundtrack (by Shigeru Umebayashi, English translation: Sorekara) is an art-form on itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWNez...
And the movie adaptation is simply unforgettable:
Even the movie soundtrack (by Shigeru Umebayashi, English translation: Sorekara) is an art-form on itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWNez...
April 27, 2023
Natsume'den okuduğum ikinci kitap oldu. Yine çalışmayı sevmeyen/tercih etmeyen erkek bir karakter var başrolde. Küçükbey'deki karakterimiz (ismini unuttum) çalışmayı sevmiyordu. Ardından'ın kahramanı Daisuke ise çalışmayı tercih etmiyor. Arka kapakta ve çevirmenin sunuşunda Oblomovvari bir karakter denmiş ama başka birkaç yorumda da belirtildiği üzere bence bu yanlış bir tanımlama. Oblomov bence tembeldi, karar alma konusunda da tembellik ediyordu. Daisuke'nin ise (haklı veya haksız) bir "duruş"u var, çalışmama yönündeki kararı ve kararsızlığı da bu duruşa dayanıyor.
İthaki baskısının çeviri ve/veya düzeltiden (metne hiç düzeltmen eli değmemiş gibi gerçi) dolayı okuma keyfini baltaladığını da eklemek isterim.
"Daisuke Rus edebiyatında ortaya çıkan huzursuzluğu hava durumu ve siyasi baskı ortamı olarak yorumladı. Fransız edebiyatında ortaya çıkan huzursuzluğu cinselliğin fazla olmasına yordu. D'Annunzio'nun temsil ettiği İtalyan edebiyatının kaygısının, sonu gelmeyen yolsuzluklar ile ortaya çıkan bilinç kaybı hissinden kaynaklandığı yargısında bulundu. Bu nedenle, Japon edebiyatçılarının merak içinde huzursuzluk ifadesini kullanmalarının, toplumu resmetmek için sadece ithal edilmiş ürünlerin kullanımına benzediğini düşündü."
İthaki baskısının çeviri ve/veya düzeltiden (metne hiç düzeltmen eli değmemiş gibi gerçi) dolayı okuma keyfini baltaladığını da eklemek isterim.
"Daisuke Rus edebiyatında ortaya çıkan huzursuzluğu hava durumu ve siyasi baskı ortamı olarak yorumladı. Fransız edebiyatında ortaya çıkan huzursuzluğu cinselliğin fazla olmasına yordu. D'Annunzio'nun temsil ettiği İtalyan edebiyatının kaygısının, sonu gelmeyen yolsuzluklar ile ortaya çıkan bilinç kaybı hissinden kaynaklandığı yargısında bulundu. Bu nedenle, Japon edebiyatçılarının merak içinde huzursuzluk ifadesini kullanmalarının, toplumu resmetmek için sadece ithal edilmiş ürünlerin kullanımına benzediğini düşündü."
January 18, 2023
Soseki’den Botchan/ Küçük Bey, hem Türkçesini hem de İngilizcesini defalarca çok da severek okuduğum bir romandır. Son dönemlerde çevirileri de arttığı için diğer kitaplarına da bir şans vermek istedim. Ardından’daki Daisuke tıpkı Küçük Bey’deki küçük bey gibi, savruk, çalışmayı sevmeyen bir adam. Elbette Daisuke küçük beyden daha entelektüel, daha filozof ama yine de dünyadaki yerini bulamamış. Üstelik arkadaşının karısına aşık ve ailesi de sürekli ona kısmetler bulmakla meşgul. Kitap boyunca Daisuke’nin zihinsel hezeyanlarını okuyoruz, bir noktadan sonra bu hezeyanlar lastik gibi uzuyor ve biz de en az Daisuke kadar canımızdan beziyoruz. Sürekli tekrar eden olaylar zinciri son 50 sayfada hızlansa da neredeyse tüm kitap aynı kısırdöngü içinde.
Romanın bir başka problemi de çevirisi. İthaki için artık kötü çeviri bir norm ama bu kitabın güya bir düzeltmeni varmış. O düzeltmen çeviriyi düzeltmek yerine ne yapmış merak ediyorum. Üstelik bu ikinci baskı. Çeviride okuma zevkinin içine eden düşük cümleler, anlamsız isim tamlamaları, Türkçeye uymayan kalıplar var. Pes artık.
Yine de Soseki’nin başka eserlerini de merak ediyorum ama başka bir yayınevinden de basılmıştır diye umuyorum.
Romanın bir başka problemi de çevirisi. İthaki için artık kötü çeviri bir norm ama bu kitabın güya bir düzeltmeni varmış. O düzeltmen çeviriyi düzeltmek yerine ne yapmış merak ediyorum. Üstelik bu ikinci baskı. Çeviride okuma zevkinin içine eden düşük cümleler, anlamsız isim tamlamaları, Türkçeye uymayan kalıplar var. Pes artık.
Yine de Soseki’nin başka eserlerini de merak ediyorum ama başka bir yayınevinden de basılmıştır diye umuyorum.
November 15, 2018
This was very complex and a very valuable read. I don't have all the time in the world for a long commentary, as the book would definitely deserve, so I'll try to make just a few points, even bluntly.
1) Although the book is tinged with local cultural flavor, of Japan's Meiji restoration era, beneath it all the tale is highly universal. Daisuke is the eternal outsider, and a highly self-conscious one, at that. He is no different from some of the greatest heroes of Western literature that have a similar value of social observer, not quite 'in on it'. Also, he is the most self-aware and self-reflexive of them all, and while his incapacity for action can be contemptible (and he's often looked upon as a weak and annoying character), I have a huge spot for sensitive self-awareness so he has my full sympathies.
2) He is not so much as unable to adapt because he is lacking in character. It's just that in the social changes of his time (the crumbling of feudal Japan and the incoming Western values through the Meiji restoration era), societal values are so messed up that truly integrating would be unbecoming. For a man of his intellectual standing, at least, although yes, this excuse only works up to a point.
3) Love does not conquer all and it has no foreseeable happy endings. Still, it's highly admirable that Daisuke has the courage to push through all society's rules and break off ties with his family for the sake of being with a married woman. It shows character and it comes in a particularly pleasant contrast with his undecisiveness and idleness from up to that point.
4) At the same time, it can be argued that he couldn't commit to loving her openly while she was still available precisely because she brought with her the promise of a normal life. Only when her health deteriorated and it was clear that she would no longer bear children or even live a normal lifespan, did his commitment shine through. This could be interpreted as a deathwish on Daisuke's part: he commits to her precisely in a desire for them to be annihilated together. It's not so admirable anymore, but complex nonetheless. And we all know how fascinating the ties between love and death are in literature and culture, regardless of whether they are Western or from elsewhere.
The social observations of Soseki are more refined and astute than ever. Though the book is not very long, I took more time than usual to read it, precisely because every paragraph is rich in multiple layers of meaning and needs to be decanted in your thoughts properly before you move on.
The story is elliptic and makes you wonder and yearn for more, since the author seems to hold back on more details and context, all the time. I drank it in with slow sips, like a strong sake, and it made me light-headed and pensive, just like Daisuke.
------------
Just a few favorite quotes:
“There’s a fellow I know who doesn’t know the first thing about music. He’s a schoolteacher, and he can’t make it teaching at just one place so he moonlights at three, maybe four other places. You can’t help feeling sorry for him. All he does is prepare a lesson, dash off to the classroom, then move his mouth mechanically. He doesn’t have time for anything else. When Sunday comes around, he calls it a day of rest and sleeps the whole day away. So, even if there’s a concert somewhere or a famous musician from abroad performs here, he can’t go. In other words, he’s going to die without ever having set foot in the beautiful world of music. For me, there’s no inexperience more wretched than that. Experience that’s tied to bread might be sincere, but it’s bound to be inferior. If you don’t have the kind of luxurious experience that’s divorced from bread and water, there’s no point in being human.”
“Sincerity and devotion were not ready-made commodities that one kept stored in the heart. Like the sparks produced by rubbing iron and stone, they were phenomena that arose from a genuine encounter between two human beings. They were not so much qualities to be possessed as they were by-products of a spiritual exchange. Hence, without the right individuals, they could not come into being.”
“At the same time, he asked himself if this process did not resemble the state of incipient insanity. Thus far, Daisuke had never believed he could become insane, for he never became impassioned.”
“Daisuke recognized in these words a sincere and naive effort to take him back to his old self. And he was moved. But at the same time, he could not help feeling that he was being begged to give back the bread that he had eaten the day before.”
“When he had thrust the request at her, she had flung it back sharply, yet when he had given up and was about to leave, she had anxiously sought his reassurance. Daisuke saw in her behavior both the beauty and the frailty of women. And he lost the heart to take advantage of such a weakness, because he could not bear to trifle with such beautiful frailty.”
“But Daisuke thought it impossible to satisfy modern appetites without first limiting the influence of an education valid only in feudal times. Any individual who would dare appease both masters would of necessity suffer great anguish from the ensuing contradictions. One who experienced such anguish and failed to recognize its source was a dim-witted, primitive creature. Each time he faced his father, Daisuke could not help feeling that either the man was a dissimulating hypocrite or a fool deficient in judgment. And Daisuke hated feeling this way.”
1) Although the book is tinged with local cultural flavor, of Japan's Meiji restoration era, beneath it all the tale is highly universal. Daisuke is the eternal outsider, and a highly self-conscious one, at that. He is no different from some of the greatest heroes of Western literature that have a similar value of social observer, not quite 'in on it'. Also, he is the most self-aware and self-reflexive of them all, and while his incapacity for action can be contemptible (and he's often looked upon as a weak and annoying character), I have a huge spot for sensitive self-awareness so he has my full sympathies.
2) He is not so much as unable to adapt because he is lacking in character. It's just that in the social changes of his time (the crumbling of feudal Japan and the incoming Western values through the Meiji restoration era), societal values are so messed up that truly integrating would be unbecoming. For a man of his intellectual standing, at least, although yes, this excuse only works up to a point.
3) Love does not conquer all and it has no foreseeable happy endings. Still, it's highly admirable that Daisuke has the courage to push through all society's rules and break off ties with his family for the sake of being with a married woman. It shows character and it comes in a particularly pleasant contrast with his undecisiveness and idleness from up to that point.
4) At the same time, it can be argued that he couldn't commit to loving her openly while she was still available precisely because she brought with her the promise of a normal life. Only when her health deteriorated and it was clear that she would no longer bear children or even live a normal lifespan, did his commitment shine through. This could be interpreted as a deathwish on Daisuke's part: he commits to her precisely in a desire for them to be annihilated together. It's not so admirable anymore, but complex nonetheless. And we all know how fascinating the ties between love and death are in literature and culture, regardless of whether they are Western or from elsewhere.
The social observations of Soseki are more refined and astute than ever. Though the book is not very long, I took more time than usual to read it, precisely because every paragraph is rich in multiple layers of meaning and needs to be decanted in your thoughts properly before you move on.
The story is elliptic and makes you wonder and yearn for more, since the author seems to hold back on more details and context, all the time. I drank it in with slow sips, like a strong sake, and it made me light-headed and pensive, just like Daisuke.
------------
Just a few favorite quotes:
“There’s a fellow I know who doesn’t know the first thing about music. He’s a schoolteacher, and he can’t make it teaching at just one place so he moonlights at three, maybe four other places. You can’t help feeling sorry for him. All he does is prepare a lesson, dash off to the classroom, then move his mouth mechanically. He doesn’t have time for anything else. When Sunday comes around, he calls it a day of rest and sleeps the whole day away. So, even if there’s a concert somewhere or a famous musician from abroad performs here, he can’t go. In other words, he’s going to die without ever having set foot in the beautiful world of music. For me, there’s no inexperience more wretched than that. Experience that’s tied to bread might be sincere, but it’s bound to be inferior. If you don’t have the kind of luxurious experience that’s divorced from bread and water, there’s no point in being human.”
“Sincerity and devotion were not ready-made commodities that one kept stored in the heart. Like the sparks produced by rubbing iron and stone, they were phenomena that arose from a genuine encounter between two human beings. They were not so much qualities to be possessed as they were by-products of a spiritual exchange. Hence, without the right individuals, they could not come into being.”
“At the same time, he asked himself if this process did not resemble the state of incipient insanity. Thus far, Daisuke had never believed he could become insane, for he never became impassioned.”
“Daisuke recognized in these words a sincere and naive effort to take him back to his old self. And he was moved. But at the same time, he could not help feeling that he was being begged to give back the bread that he had eaten the day before.”
“When he had thrust the request at her, she had flung it back sharply, yet when he had given up and was about to leave, she had anxiously sought his reassurance. Daisuke saw in her behavior both the beauty and the frailty of women. And he lost the heart to take advantage of such a weakness, because he could not bear to trifle with such beautiful frailty.”
“But Daisuke thought it impossible to satisfy modern appetites without first limiting the influence of an education valid only in feudal times. Any individual who would dare appease both masters would of necessity suffer great anguish from the ensuing contradictions. One who experienced such anguish and failed to recognize its source was a dim-witted, primitive creature. Each time he faced his father, Daisuke could not help feeling that either the man was a dissimulating hypocrite or a fool deficient in judgment. And Daisuke hated feeling this way.”
July 6, 2016
It doesn't usually take me three weeks to read a 246-page book, but I read the first 20 pages of And Then at least five times, for days, never getting past p. 20, nothing entering my mind. I am a bad reader, often. Undedicated. Lazy. Nothing much happens in large swathes of this novel. There's a lot of flower-smelling. But I made myself continue. If I could make myself a higher quality reader, even if only by 0.0000000024 percent a year, it would be worth it. This is my goal with all reading, although I am a frequent backslider.
Sōseki's protagonist, Daisuke, is a few years out of college, the son of a wealthy man in Meiji-era Japan (they have telephones in their homes, so I'm guessing it's about 1907). Today, in the west, as capitalists, we would call Daisuke a ne'er-do-well. He does not work for a living, two servants wait on him hand and foot, he is financially supported by his father. He makes visits to his brother and sister-in-law, and reunites with his best friend from college, Hiraoka, and his wife Michiyo. Daisuke's father, and in fact his whole family, very much want him to get married. He has turned down several women in the past that his father proposed for him, and now there is a new candidate. But Daisuke does not want to get married, for various reasons. One of these reasons is that he is in love with Michiyo. In fact, although he encouraged Hiraoka and Michiyo to get married, he knew even at the time that he was in love with her. But because Hiraoka was his friend, and Hiraoka had decided to marry her, he didn't want to interfere. When he reveals his feelings to Michiyo, and then to Hiraoka, and Hiraoka reveals everything that is happening in a letter to Daisuke's father, the poo hits the fan. Gently, quietly, in a very Meiji-era way, but it hits.
We learn in translator Norma Moore Field's Afterword that Natsume Sōseki, or Sōseki Natsume, is Japan's most beloved author. The eighth child of an older couple, he was given away to nurse, but taken home again by his sister when she pitied seeing him lying in his basket on the ground day after day at his foster parents' merchant stall. He was then adopted by a different couple, but ultimately ended up at home with his birth parents. As a young man he studied English and won a scholarship to England, where he was unhappy as a small, pockmarked man among a nation of tall Adonises. He became expert in haiku and surprised people by moving to far western Japan, far from the action. He married the daughter of a government official, who was so upset when her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage that she tried to commit suicide by throwing herself in a river. After this, Field tells us, Sōseki slept with a long cord connecting himself to her. (Michiyo has also been made miserable by her infant dying a few days after birth, and keeps the kimono the baby would have worn.) He quit an academic position to write for a newspaper, surprising everyone. He died at 49, apparently debilitated by a series of gastric ulcers.
May 10, 2013
This book is stunning -- stunningly beautiful and even shocking. It took me months to get through the first 150 pages or so (this edition is only 225 pages long) because so much of the 'action' of those pages takes place in Daisuke's head. Daisuke is a young man from a wealthy Japanese family who is, though approaching 30, still unmarried and still living off the allowance provided by his father. Pressured by his family (father, brother and sister-in-law) to find a profession and to take a wife, he puts them off as coolly as he can. He disdains his father and his brother, especially the former, who engage in modern business practices while still espousing Japan's feudal values. And he regards himself "as one of those higher beings who disposed of a large number of hours unsullied by an occupation" (p. 24). He whiles away his time in reading foreign books, attending the theater with his sister-in-law Umeko, and taking naps. He is hyper-conscious of the workings of his own mind and body. And he seems not to have any strong emotional attachments to anyone -- no close friends or strong family feeling. Such a character isn't exactly appealing to me, so I found the first 150 pages of this novel very slow going.
The trigger for change in Daisuke's life arrives in the form of an old friend Hiraoka, who has returned to Tokyo after a few years away. Hiraoka has left a job under a cloud and is now looking for another profession. Daisuke and Hiraoka seem unable to renew their friendship, but Daisuke cannot ignore Michiyo, Hiraoka's wife, whose health has been weak, especially since the loss of their child. Michiyo visits Daisuke, who was a good friend of her now dead older brother, and it becomes clear that an additional source of strain on her health is her and her husband's financial instability. Daisuke gives Michiyo money; later he borrows some more from his sister-in-law in order to help Michiyo with basic household expenses.
At this point in the novel, I still found reading very, very slow. But then Daisuke finally acknowledges to himself and to his sister-in-law that the real reason why he has put off marriage (his family have found him yet another prospect) is because he does love someone -- Michiyo. The dispassionate character who has for 150 pages been rather difficult to like or sympathize with admits his feelings to the gentle, longsuffering Michiyo in shockingly passionate language: "You are necessary to my existence. Absolutely necessary" (p. 180). "Why did you let me go?" asks the weeping Michiyo. (When, a few years ago, Hiraoka had become engaged to Michiyo, Daisuke had supported the union.) "It was wrong of me. Please forgive me," replies Daisuke. Michiyo's brother's death had thrown off course the developing relationship between Daisuke and Michiyo: ". . . the three spun together from month to month like three spokes in a wheel. Knowingly or unknowingly the spokes drew closer and closer as the wheel turned. Just as they were about to merge into one ring, one of them disappeared, and the remaining two lost their equilibrium" (p. 179).
Having revealed their love for each other Daisuke and Michiyo are sure and unwavering. But they know that pursuing their relationship is likely to have dire consequences. ". . . I've already made up my mind, so it's all right. I don't care when I get killed," says Michiyo (p. 202). Daisuke hears such words with horror, but the fact is that by choosing each other Daisuke and Michiyo break social norms in a way that ends their world. The ending is darkly ambiguous. Michiyo falls ill and her house goes dark; Daisuke can't see or step inside it. When his brother visits him to tell him that he has been cut out of the family, Daisuke leaves his house, telling his servant, ". . . I'm going out to look for a job" (p. 224). Hurrying in the heat, he repeats to himself, "I'm burning, I'm burning" (p. 224), and everywhere -- in shop signs, in balloons at an intersection, in a curtain -- he sees red. His world -- and the story -- ends in a conflagration.
"And Then" reminds me of novels by Edith Wharton ("The House of Mirth," for example) in which characters tightly bound by social rules break free to acknowledge a passionate love. In doing so, they find their true selves, but they also fall out of the world they've always lived in and so, perhaps, face death.
I'm very glad that I finished reading this brilliant, passionate book.
The trigger for change in Daisuke's life arrives in the form of an old friend Hiraoka, who has returned to Tokyo after a few years away. Hiraoka has left a job under a cloud and is now looking for another profession. Daisuke and Hiraoka seem unable to renew their friendship, but Daisuke cannot ignore Michiyo, Hiraoka's wife, whose health has been weak, especially since the loss of their child. Michiyo visits Daisuke, who was a good friend of her now dead older brother, and it becomes clear that an additional source of strain on her health is her and her husband's financial instability. Daisuke gives Michiyo money; later he borrows some more from his sister-in-law in order to help Michiyo with basic household expenses.
At this point in the novel, I still found reading very, very slow. But then Daisuke finally acknowledges to himself and to his sister-in-law that the real reason why he has put off marriage (his family have found him yet another prospect) is because he does love someone -- Michiyo. The dispassionate character who has for 150 pages been rather difficult to like or sympathize with admits his feelings to the gentle, longsuffering Michiyo in shockingly passionate language: "You are necessary to my existence. Absolutely necessary" (p. 180). "Why did you let me go?" asks the weeping Michiyo. (When, a few years ago, Hiraoka had become engaged to Michiyo, Daisuke had supported the union.) "It was wrong of me. Please forgive me," replies Daisuke. Michiyo's brother's death had thrown off course the developing relationship between Daisuke and Michiyo: ". . . the three spun together from month to month like three spokes in a wheel. Knowingly or unknowingly the spokes drew closer and closer as the wheel turned. Just as they were about to merge into one ring, one of them disappeared, and the remaining two lost their equilibrium" (p. 179).
Having revealed their love for each other Daisuke and Michiyo are sure and unwavering. But they know that pursuing their relationship is likely to have dire consequences. ". . . I've already made up my mind, so it's all right. I don't care when I get killed," says Michiyo (p. 202). Daisuke hears such words with horror, but the fact is that by choosing each other Daisuke and Michiyo break social norms in a way that ends their world. The ending is darkly ambiguous. Michiyo falls ill and her house goes dark; Daisuke can't see or step inside it. When his brother visits him to tell him that he has been cut out of the family, Daisuke leaves his house, telling his servant, ". . . I'm going out to look for a job" (p. 224). Hurrying in the heat, he repeats to himself, "I'm burning, I'm burning" (p. 224), and everywhere -- in shop signs, in balloons at an intersection, in a curtain -- he sees red. His world -- and the story -- ends in a conflagration.
"And Then" reminds me of novels by Edith Wharton ("The House of Mirth," for example) in which characters tightly bound by social rules break free to acknowledge a passionate love. In doing so, they find their true selves, but they also fall out of the world they've always lived in and so, perhaps, face death.
I'm very glad that I finished reading this brilliant, passionate book.
April 15, 2022
Daisuke, segunda parte de la trilogía iniciada con Sanshiro, fue publicado un año después, esto es, en 1909. Ya algo acostumbrada al estilo de Soseki, tenía como muestra previa también a Kokoro. Por lo tanto, tenía bastante curiosidad por saber el estilo y la trama general de Daisuke.
Al conocer que se trataba de la segunda parte de la trilogía, pensé que, seguramente, tendría un estilo también gracioso, con brillitos de inocencia o la misma vivacidad; al menos, esperaba que las historias se conectaran por algún personaje en particular, en algún punto, pero no fue así, de ninguna manera. Lo único que tenían en común era que las historias se desarrollaban en Tokio y, quizás, que ambos protagonistas eran hombres bastante cobardes.
Es un libro lento. Toda la historia se encuentra centrada en la figura de Daisuke, el protagonista, en sus reflexiones, y se enfoca casi exclusivamente en describir su manera de ver la vida y la sociedad de la época, mientas la trama se desarrolla de modo que se puede considerar muy repetitivo.
Es importante conocer un poco el contexto del Japón de la época para que resulte más fácil comprender el pensamiento de Daisuke. Una de las claves es conocer las generalidades de la era Meiji y el proceso de occidentalización de la región (tema que ya se trataba en Sanshiro), así como el debate entre la tradición y la modernidad.
Si bien con menos frecuencia que en Sanshiro, en esta novela también se hacen algunas referencias a cuestiones artísticas y literarias, aunque el enfoque de esta era más hacia las costumbres, la moral y las estructuras sociales.
Los últimos tres o cuatro capítulos pasan en un respiro y son sólo angustia. El final de la obra tiene una fuerza increíble (tanto que todavía me da vueltas en la cabeza), desde la forma hasta el fondo; preciosísimo, envolvente, tremendamente simbólico y descriptivo de un estado mental no tiene un nombre exacto.
Para ver el resumen de la obra, les invito a mi blog: https://aurorasalocaso.blogspot.com/2...
Al conocer que se trataba de la segunda parte de la trilogía, pensé que, seguramente, tendría un estilo también gracioso, con brillitos de inocencia o la misma vivacidad; al menos, esperaba que las historias se conectaran por algún personaje en particular, en algún punto, pero no fue así, de ninguna manera. Lo único que tenían en común era que las historias se desarrollaban en Tokio y, quizás, que ambos protagonistas eran hombres bastante cobardes.
Es un libro lento. Toda la historia se encuentra centrada en la figura de Daisuke, el protagonista, en sus reflexiones, y se enfoca casi exclusivamente en describir su manera de ver la vida y la sociedad de la época, mientas la trama se desarrolla de modo que se puede considerar muy repetitivo.
Es importante conocer un poco el contexto del Japón de la época para que resulte más fácil comprender el pensamiento de Daisuke. Una de las claves es conocer las generalidades de la era Meiji y el proceso de occidentalización de la región (tema que ya se trataba en Sanshiro), así como el debate entre la tradición y la modernidad.
Si bien con menos frecuencia que en Sanshiro, en esta novela también se hacen algunas referencias a cuestiones artísticas y literarias, aunque el enfoque de esta era más hacia las costumbres, la moral y las estructuras sociales.
“(…) Fíjate, a Japón se le van a romper las tripas y las consecuencias de eso se verán en cada uno de sus individuos. Un pueblo así de oprimido por Occidente no tiene tiempo libre para cultivar su mente y por eso no puede hacer nada que merezca la pena. Recibe una educación despojada hasta de sus huesos, que obliga a tener las narices tan pegadas a la rueda del molino al que estamos enganchados que al final nos mareamos y acabamos por padecer todo tipo de crisis nerviosas. Intenta hablar con la gente. Normalmente son todos estúpidos. No han pensado nunca en nada más que en sí mismos, el día en el que viven, el instante preciso en que lo hacen. Están demasiado exhaustos para pensar en otra cosa y no es culpa suya. Por desgracia, el agotamiento del espíritu y el deterioro del cuerpo van de la mano. Y eso no es todo. El declive de la moral también se ha instalado entre nosotros. Mires donde mires en este país, no encontrarás ni un solo rincón glorioso, brillante. Son todo lugares sombríos. Por mucho que yo diga o haga, ¿cuál sería la diferencia con ese panorama? (…)”.
Los últimos tres o cuatro capítulos pasan en un respiro y son sólo angustia. El final de la obra tiene una fuerza increíble (tanto que todavía me da vueltas en la cabeza), desde la forma hasta el fondo; preciosísimo, envolvente, tremendamente simbólico y descriptivo de un estado mental no tiene un nombre exacto.
Para ver el resumen de la obra, les invito a mi blog: https://aurorasalocaso.blogspot.com/2...
March 3, 2019
L'abitudine era così radicata che, se lasciava passare un giorno senza posare lo sguardo su una pagina, provava un senso di decadimento. Di conseguenza, qualunque problema avesse, trovava comunque il modo di leggere qualcosa. C'erano momenti in cui aveva l'impressione che la lettura fosse la sua unica vera vocazione.
May 22, 2021
Como el día y la noche comparado con Sanshiro.
June 9, 2012
Anyone traveling in Japan has seen Natsume Soseki's face gracing the 1000 Yen bill. Americans are probably surprised to see that in Japan a writer rather than a political figure is given such an honor--if having one's face printed on "filthy lucre" can be considered an honor. I would list Soseki's "Kokoro" among the best "world" novels of the twentieth century, and "And Then" is not far behind. While it is yet one more "male alienation" novel, the alienation in this case is motivated by real, profound social changes. The setting is Japan in the decades following the Meiji Restoration (1868). The largely Confucian society of traditional Japan is crumbling, but the new Western world of personal freedom and individual identity has yet fully to emerge. Daisuke, the protagonist, is caught in this transition. He remains financially dependent upon his old-fashioned father and uses this support to construct a leisurely life of literary and philosophical ponderings. He simultaneously resents his father, particularly when the latter tries to push him toward marriage, and rejects the new world of work In fact, "He had made it his practice not to place too much weight on anything over the past two or three years" (p78). And then he becomes obsessed with an old love, who happens also to be married to his best friend. The emotions become complex and Soseki's strength as a writer is the delicacy with which he explores the tangled world of emotion and alienation (anyone who knows of Soseki's life knows he was himself hugely alienated!). This novel is highly recommended as an intelligent portrayal of one man's attempt, really failed attempt, to negotiate between two quite different worlds.
March 6, 2022
Không chỉ là các nhân vật, dòng văn học của Natsume Soseki luôn là những tiến bộ của tư duy trước giao điểm của lề thói cũ và văn minh mới. Những tiến bộ ấy như một thân cây có nhiều nhánh nhưng không thể mọc trật tự, nó phát sinh ra quá nhiều mâu thuẫn và đòi hỏi ở bản thân, không thể kịp đáp ứng dòng năng lượng của sự nhạy cảm tràn lan trong gia đình đến ngoài xã hội. Và nó tạo ra khoảng cách rất lớn giữa hai thế hệ mà đúng sai của thế hệ này chẳng thể áp dụng cho thế hệ khác. Nhưng dĩ nhiên, những mực thước đạo đức căn bản thì sẽ mãi tồn tại và không dễ mất đi.
Daisuke là chàng thanh niên có một nền tảng gia đình vững chãi, giàu có, chịu sự giáo dục khắt khe từ cha. Nhưng có thể thời đại và thực trạng của xã hội khiến anh luôn mâu thuẫn và bất đồng với cha mình. Từ Mạc Phủ chuyển sang thời Minh Trị cũng là một bước nhảy rất dài của quan điểm sống. Sự thành thực và nhiệt huyết thời cha anh không phải là kim chỉ nam cho hiện tại nữa. “Với Daisuke, cảm xúc là thứ thuế phải nộp cho năng lực suy nghĩ tỉ mỉ và tính cảm ứng nhạy bén cố hữu của bản thân. Đó là nỗi thống khổ vang vọng từ phía bên kia nền giáo dục cao quý.” Anh 30 tuổi, vô công rồi nghề, không kiếm tiền nhưng lại tiêu tiền, thỉnh thoảng mơ mộng, lãng đãng, ngay từ trẻ đã không thích những trải nghiệm tầm thường. Khi quá rảnh rỗi, người ta thường hay bận tâm đến những mặt tối của xã hội, vẫn muốn đề cao bản thân và xem nhẹ người khác. Mặc dù những mâu thuẫn chưa bao giờ đến mức cùng cực nhưng chính sự tự do và lối sống vô định khiến cuộc đời trở nên nhàm chán và chìm trong mơ hồ.
Gặp lại người bạn Hiraoka chính là dấu mốc của “từ dạo ấy”. Cụm từ それから (Sorekara) được dịch khá chỉn chu và giàu ý nghĩa đấy chứ! Không phải là “sau đó”, “từ lúc đó” hay “từ nay về sau”, “từ dạo ấy” nghe thấy nhiều kí ức và khởi nguồn hơn. Đó cũng chính là khởi đầu của một tình yêu chưa kịp nói thành lời, để lựa chọn độc thân, để khước từ một cuộc hôn nhân được sắp đặt dẫu gây ra tranh cãi trong gia đình. Vì chưa hiểu bản thân hay vì tình nghĩa bạn bè mà quay lưng với cảm xúc đầu đời? Michiyo cũng vậy, nàng ấy non nớt và quá lệ thuộc, chỉ biết dùng nước mắt để thổ lộ nỗi lòng. Daisuke thấy chán ghét bản thân vì sự thiếu quyết đoán của mình. Việc bộc lộ tâm tình với người mình yêu khi nàng đã có chồng và gạt qua hèn nhát để đối diện với những người thân còn lại là đúng nhưng lại sai thời điểm.
Cuộc đời Daisuke quá mông lung để níu giữ một sự ổn định, chính vì vậy mà nội tâm luôn phải giằng xé dẫn đến chán chường. Cho đến phút cuối, tưởng việc thổ lộ sẽ gỡ bớt gánh nặng nhưng không phải vậy, cán cân đạo đức nghiêng về số đông, còn anh lạc lối giữa một thế giới chuyển động, vừa mất phương hướng vừa mất đi sự tin tưởng từ những người thân yêu. “Đầu anh bắt đầu quay cuồng với tốc độ như của tàu điện. Càng quay nó càng nóng rực lên như lửa. Anh nghĩ nếu mình cứ đi tàu như thế này cả nửa ngày thì có lẽ sẽ bị thiêu rụi.” Phải chăng Daisuke chỉ là một ví dụ điển hình và rất nhỏ cho một thế hệ trẻ có nền tảng giàu có trong một thời điểm chuyển giao của hai chế độ. Tại thời điểm đó, vừa có đạo đức lẫn tha hoá, vừa có vật chất lẫn nghèo túng, vừa có bảo thủ lẫn liều lĩnh. Dù sao, quá khứ với một xã hội nói chung, với một cá nhân nói riêng là thứ không thể tách rời.
Một đoạn duy nhất của tác phẩm mà ta có thể thấy sự tươi sáng nhất ở Daisuke, đó là khi anh nhìn ngắm những bông bách hợp : “Hôm nay là lần đầu tiên mình quay trở về với mình của ngày xưa. Khi có thể nói được điều này, anh thấy có một sự bình yên lan tỏa khắp cơ thể mình, thứ mà những năm gần đây anh không có được. Anh nghĩ tại sao mình lại không thể quay trở về sớm hơn. Đầu tiên anh thắc mắc tại sao mình đã phản kháng lại tự nhiên. Dưới mưa, những bông hoa bách hợp, trong ngày xưa được tái hiện, anh nhìn thấy một sự sống thanh bình, thuần khiết. Dù là mặt trước hay mặt sau của sự sống đó, đều không có sự ích kỷ, không có được mất, không có những thứ đạo đức đè nén bản thân. Chỉ có sự tự do như nước chảy mây trôi. Tất cả đều hạnh phúc. Vì thế, tất cả đều đẹp.”
Natsume Soseki vô cùng tinh tế và sâu sắc khi có thể len lỏi vào nội tâm con người một cách thấu đáo như vậy. Tất cả các ngưỡng giới hạn của con người cũng được khai thác rất tài tình. Xã hội trong thời kỳ chuyển giao đã tạo nên bi kịch hay chính bản thân mỗi người tự tạo bi kịch cho mình? Những đối lập và tranh cãi về lề thói cũng là tất yếu và điều còn lại là gì? Tình yêu, rốt cuộc cũng khiến người ta can đảm trong một thời khắc nào đó dẫu phải đánh đổi bằng đạo đức. Tác phẩm đậm chất kinh điển kiểu Nhật, hay và có tầm.
Daisuke là chàng thanh niên có một nền tảng gia đình vững chãi, giàu có, chịu sự giáo dục khắt khe từ cha. Nhưng có thể thời đại và thực trạng của xã hội khiến anh luôn mâu thuẫn và bất đồng với cha mình. Từ Mạc Phủ chuyển sang thời Minh Trị cũng là một bước nhảy rất dài của quan điểm sống. Sự thành thực và nhiệt huyết thời cha anh không phải là kim chỉ nam cho hiện tại nữa. “Với Daisuke, cảm xúc là thứ thuế phải nộp cho năng lực suy nghĩ tỉ mỉ và tính cảm ứng nhạy bén cố hữu của bản thân. Đó là nỗi thống khổ vang vọng từ phía bên kia nền giáo dục cao quý.” Anh 30 tuổi, vô công rồi nghề, không kiếm tiền nhưng lại tiêu tiền, thỉnh thoảng mơ mộng, lãng đãng, ngay từ trẻ đã không thích những trải nghiệm tầm thường. Khi quá rảnh rỗi, người ta thường hay bận tâm đến những mặt tối của xã hội, vẫn muốn đề cao bản thân và xem nhẹ người khác. Mặc dù những mâu thuẫn chưa bao giờ đến mức cùng cực nhưng chính sự tự do và lối sống vô định khiến cuộc đời trở nên nhàm chán và chìm trong mơ hồ.
Gặp lại người bạn Hiraoka chính là dấu mốc của “từ dạo ấy”. Cụm từ それから (Sorekara) được dịch khá chỉn chu và giàu ý nghĩa đấy chứ! Không phải là “sau đó”, “từ lúc đó” hay “từ nay về sau”, “từ dạo ấy” nghe thấy nhiều kí ức và khởi nguồn hơn. Đó cũng chính là khởi đầu của một tình yêu chưa kịp nói thành lời, để lựa chọn độc thân, để khước từ một cuộc hôn nhân được sắp đặt dẫu gây ra tranh cãi trong gia đình. Vì chưa hiểu bản thân hay vì tình nghĩa bạn bè mà quay lưng với cảm xúc đầu đời? Michiyo cũng vậy, nàng ấy non nớt và quá lệ thuộc, chỉ biết dùng nước mắt để thổ lộ nỗi lòng. Daisuke thấy chán ghét bản thân vì sự thiếu quyết đoán của mình. Việc bộc lộ tâm tình với người mình yêu khi nàng đã có chồng và gạt qua hèn nhát để đối diện với những người thân còn lại là đúng nhưng lại sai thời điểm.
Cuộc đời Daisuke quá mông lung để níu giữ một sự ổn định, chính vì vậy mà nội tâm luôn phải giằng xé dẫn đến chán chường. Cho đến phút cuối, tưởng việc thổ lộ sẽ gỡ bớt gánh nặng nhưng không phải vậy, cán cân đạo đức nghiêng về số đông, còn anh lạc lối giữa một thế giới chuyển động, vừa mất phương hướng vừa mất đi sự tin tưởng từ những người thân yêu. “Đầu anh bắt đầu quay cuồng với tốc độ như của tàu điện. Càng quay nó càng nóng rực lên như lửa. Anh nghĩ nếu mình cứ đi tàu như thế này cả nửa ngày thì có lẽ sẽ bị thiêu rụi.” Phải chăng Daisuke chỉ là một ví dụ điển hình và rất nhỏ cho một thế hệ trẻ có nền tảng giàu có trong một thời điểm chuyển giao của hai chế độ. Tại thời điểm đó, vừa có đạo đức lẫn tha hoá, vừa có vật chất lẫn nghèo túng, vừa có bảo thủ lẫn liều lĩnh. Dù sao, quá khứ với một xã hội nói chung, với một cá nhân nói riêng là thứ không thể tách rời.
Một đoạn duy nhất của tác phẩm mà ta có thể thấy sự tươi sáng nhất ở Daisuke, đó là khi anh nhìn ngắm những bông bách hợp : “Hôm nay là lần đầu tiên mình quay trở về với mình của ngày xưa. Khi có thể nói được điều này, anh thấy có một sự bình yên lan tỏa khắp cơ thể mình, thứ mà những năm gần đây anh không có được. Anh nghĩ tại sao mình lại không thể quay trở về sớm hơn. Đầu tiên anh thắc mắc tại sao mình đã phản kháng lại tự nhiên. Dưới mưa, những bông hoa bách hợp, trong ngày xưa được tái hiện, anh nhìn thấy một sự sống thanh bình, thuần khiết. Dù là mặt trước hay mặt sau của sự sống đó, đều không có sự ích kỷ, không có được mất, không có những thứ đạo đức đè nén bản thân. Chỉ có sự tự do như nước chảy mây trôi. Tất cả đều hạnh phúc. Vì thế, tất cả đều đẹp.”
Natsume Soseki vô cùng tinh tế và sâu sắc khi có thể len lỏi vào nội tâm con người một cách thấu đáo như vậy. Tất cả các ngưỡng giới hạn của con người cũng được khai thác rất tài tình. Xã hội trong thời kỳ chuyển giao đã tạo nên bi kịch hay chính bản thân mỗi người tự tạo bi kịch cho mình? Những đối lập và tranh cãi về lề thói cũng là tất yếu và điều còn lại là gì? Tình yêu, rốt cuộc cũng khiến người ta can đảm trong một thời khắc nào đó dẫu phải đánh đổi bằng đạo đức. Tác phẩm đậm chất kinh điển kiểu Nhật, hay và có tầm.
May 14, 2023
Natsume Soseki’den okuduğum ilk kitap. Japonya’daki dıştan dayatılan modernleşme sürecinin toplumda yarattığı kırılmalar fonunda zengin ailesinin desteğiyle aylakça yaşam süren edebiyata meraklı 30’luk delikanlı Daisuke’nin bir “yasak aşk” hikayesi anlatılan. Bu yönüyle bana Tanpınar’ın Huzur’unu hatırlattı. Uzmanlarımızca bu iki roman arasında bir karşılaştırmalı çalışma yapılsa ne hoş olur.
Kitapta bahsettiğim değişim süreciyle ilgili yapılan toplumsal tahliller çarpıcı olmakla birlikte, yer yer didaktikliğin sınırlarında da dolaşabiliyor. Yine de okunmaya değer, bize yakın gelen temalar üzerinde duran bir roman. Yalnız doğrudan Japonca’dan yapılmış olmakla birlikte çevirinin (Habibe Salğar) Türkçe açısından pek parlak olmadığını söylemeliyim. İthaki’nin olmazsa olmazı yazım hataları bu kitapta o kadar çok olmasa da yine kendini gösteriyor, hem de benim okuduğum 3. baskı olmasına rağmen!
Kitapta bahsettiğim değişim süreciyle ilgili yapılan toplumsal tahliller çarpıcı olmakla birlikte, yer yer didaktikliğin sınırlarında da dolaşabiliyor. Yine de okunmaya değer, bize yakın gelen temalar üzerinde duran bir roman. Yalnız doğrudan Japonca’dan yapılmış olmakla birlikte çevirinin (Habibe Salğar) Türkçe açısından pek parlak olmadığını söylemeliyim. İthaki’nin olmazsa olmazı yazım hataları bu kitapta o kadar çok olmasa da yine kendini gösteriyor, hem de benim okuduğum 3. baskı olmasına rağmen!
September 9, 2017
This is also another novel by Soseki Natsume which, I think, his readers should not miss due to his unique style and plot. However, some newcomers might find it a bit boring in some chapters but we have no choice, just keep reading and we’d see how the story develops. While reading, we can’t help hoping the protagonist, Daisuke, could see the light or solution in terms of his decision to get married as well as his love to Michiyo, Hiraoka’s wife. In fact, this love triangle seems a bit complicated since they’ve been friends since their schooldays but, for some reasons, he has never revealed his love to her, rather he’s encouraged both to fall in love and get married.
Eventually, the couple find that they don’t really love each other since Hiraoka’s always been busy working and returns home late. His wife has long been embittered and disappointed due to her miscarriage, therefore, she wonders if her husband really loves her.
Surprisingly, there is a favorite sentence: “it can’t be helped” (or a bit different wording) used repetitively, that is, 15 times all over the story. So I think this may be the novel’s key theme, that is, everything depends on it fate, those involved can’t take action or do anything like its title, And Then, suggests.
Eventually, the couple find that they don’t really love each other since Hiraoka’s always been busy working and returns home late. His wife has long been embittered and disappointed due to her miscarriage, therefore, she wonders if her husband really loves her.
Surprisingly, there is a favorite sentence: “it can’t be helped” (or a bit different wording) used repetitively, that is, 15 times all over the story. So I think this may be the novel’s key theme, that is, everything depends on it fate, those involved can’t take action or do anything like its title, And Then, suggests.
November 8, 2019
"Daisuke had never considered himself idle. He simply regarded himself as one of those higher beings who disposed of a large number of hours unsullied by an occupation."
Ah, I love Natsume! Like his inimitable The Gate, here he gives another long, slow simmer, the story of an indolent, yet tormented young man caught between devotion to social mores and raw nature. Daisuke's father and charming sister-in-law harangue him to marry. Daisuke secretly loves the ill wife of one of his oldest friends. Trapped in a dilettante's existence with pretensions to some kind of slack-ass philosophy, Daisuke cannot bring himself to move in either direction, allowing his lack of exertion of what he really wants to dominate and tear him down.
This is a secret love story, in that no one knows he is in love, not even him, because convention will not allow it. The entire novel is thus a battle waged in the head and heart of one sad-sack guy, and the conflict is beautifully wrought, as always, if pathetically fought, as always.
Ah, I love Natsume! Like his inimitable The Gate, here he gives another long, slow simmer, the story of an indolent, yet tormented young man caught between devotion to social mores and raw nature. Daisuke's father and charming sister-in-law harangue him to marry. Daisuke secretly loves the ill wife of one of his oldest friends. Trapped in a dilettante's existence with pretensions to some kind of slack-ass philosophy, Daisuke cannot bring himself to move in either direction, allowing his lack of exertion of what he really wants to dominate and tear him down.
This is a secret love story, in that no one knows he is in love, not even him, because convention will not allow it. The entire novel is thus a battle waged in the head and heart of one sad-sack guy, and the conflict is beautifully wrought, as always, if pathetically fought, as always.
January 25, 2020
After reading Sanshiro, I realized this was the first book of a trilogy, so now to the second book: And Then.
I read it both for the Japanese Literature Challenge, and for The Classics Club.
It is in this trilogy (Sanshiro; And Then; The Gate), “that we see the emergence of the mature novelist.” If Sanshiro is the story of a timid young man, frightened and paralyzed by the new world he is thrown in, And Then is “about troubled adulthood”, and The Gate about middle age.
In my review of Sanshiro, I highlighted the importance of the historical setting. Soseki lived in “one of the most dramatic periods in Japanese history, the Meiji Restoration. It was a time of major social changes, for instance disrupting the traditional “filial piety to the family”, an essential theme in And Then.
My full review is here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/01/25/...
I read it both for the Japanese Literature Challenge, and for The Classics Club.
It is in this trilogy (Sanshiro; And Then; The Gate), “that we see the emergence of the mature novelist.” If Sanshiro is the story of a timid young man, frightened and paralyzed by the new world he is thrown in, And Then is “about troubled adulthood”, and The Gate about middle age.
In my review of Sanshiro, I highlighted the importance of the historical setting. Soseki lived in “one of the most dramatic periods in Japanese history, the Meiji Restoration. It was a time of major social changes, for instance disrupting the traditional “filial piety to the family”, an essential theme in And Then.
My full review is here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/01/25/...
March 17, 2020
Another brilliant work by Natsume, who seems to be the inspiration for most contemporary japanese authors.
If you are searching for a complex plot or a thrill, this is not for you. it is more of a psychological character study as in most of Natsume's books.
Here, Daisuke is a middle aged man who is alienated from people around him, has deep life philosophies, is pressured by soceity and who is torn between the old japanese and the western modern culture.
If you are searching for a complex plot or a thrill, this is not for you. it is more of a psychological character study as in most of Natsume's books.
Here, Daisuke is a middle aged man who is alienated from people around him, has deep life philosophies, is pressured by soceity and who is torn between the old japanese and the western modern culture.
March 24, 2022
Kitap güzel. Ne yazık ki bol yazım hatası var. Kitabın ortasından sonra artıyor hatalar. Hatta 167. sayfada aynı paragrafın iki farklı çevirisi arka arkaya verilmiş. İthaki'den beklemezdim. Lütfen acele etmeyin, herkesin emeğine yazık oluyor.
July 9, 2023
Soseki ile ilk tanışma 💘 dilini de tarzını da çokça sevdim.
April 5, 2015
"Daisuke looked at his father's face blankly. He could not tell where the old man thought he had stabbed him."
"Daisuke envied the men of old: though they were actually motivated by self-interest, the muddiness of their reasoning enabled them to weep, to feel, to agitate, all the while convinced that it was for the sake of others, and, in the end, to effect what they had originally desired."
"Daisuke envied the men of old: though they were actually motivated by self-interest, the muddiness of their reasoning enabled them to weep, to feel, to agitate, all the while convinced that it was for the sake of others, and, in the end, to effect what they had originally desired."
October 21, 2017
10/10 coming of age novel for hopeless idealists
April 18, 2019
Me ha pasado como Daisuke, me daba pereza hacer algo con este libro.
August 7, 2014
And Then is a work of art in my mind. There is such an ambiguity that rings throughout the book and in order to really "get it" you have to quieten down your mind and spirit to grasp the nuances of meaning within the story. Daisuke, our protagonist, appears to float between life and death through several channels; either through his concerns about his health and mind or symbolically through his decisions (and indecisions) and imaginations. For me reading this book is like narrowing down the soft murmurings of an already quiet room, something that you would not be aware of being there until you start to listen for it. Needless to say, I am a devoted fan of Soseki Natsume.
March 9, 2019
An Artfully-Written Pathology Study
[Warning: Contains significant spoilers!]
My first awareness of this book and its author came from the excellent 11-part 2013 Fuji TV drama "Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia's Case Files," or "Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou." The show - which is included in the streaming service Crunchyroll - is about a used bookshop run by a mysterious girl who has a Sherlock Holmes-like skill: She can unravel the history of a book's past owners just by examining it. Each episode deals with a specific book, and Episode 1 is a nifty story about long-buried family secrets that are tied up in Natsume's book "And Then." So of course I had to read it. (One down, ten to go...)
I can only assume that reading this in the original Japanese is the only way to derive its poetic value - Natsume was an acclaimed poet as well as novelist - but the story itself, though an interesting slice-of-life from turn-of-the-20th-century Tokyo, is essentially a pathology study.
The main character, Nagai Daisuke, is best described as a lazy, spoiled loser who submerges himself in quasi-intellectual rationalizations for living a contemptible, self-destructive life. He's the son of a prosperous businessman who gives Daisuke both a house of his own to live in, complete with a servant and a cook, and a generous periodic allowance. When he's not wandering aimlessly around the city, he spends his days in idle contemplation of everything from trivia like suppositions on how the colors that rooms are painted might affect moods, to nonsensical musings like staring at his legs and imagining them as "strange creatures." He's reached his thirties but remains utterly aimless, a whim-worshipping, scatterbrained dependent who rejects the idea of developing a self-sufficient career every time anyone brings it up. Most of the chastisements come from his father, whom he treats with contempt for no good reason, but also from his older brother and sister-in-law, for whom he retains a level of respect. He rationalizes his inertia by claiming that any work done for self sustenance - as opposed to work done "for its own sake" - is a "degenerate endeavor."
His continual reference to the idea that one "degrades" a thing merely by doing that thing, is Platonism - the belief that any given thing (or action,) is only pure and unsullied if it is completely separate from physical expression, i.e., from application in the real world. It's a thoroughly irrational belief, and at once an easy "out" and psychological burden for anyone who convinces himself that it's somehow true. I'm wanting to think Natsume wrote this into the Daisuke character as a way of presenting a cautionary lesson on irrationality, but it's equally likely he agreed with it.
So because Daisuke cannot conceive of a values-derived pride arising from having put in an honest day's work for one's sustenance, he projects that blindness onto the world around him and blames *it*. It's evasion raised to the level of an art form. When he gets around to contemplating the concept of a purposive life specifically, he begins with the valid observation that one's purpose in life is properly self-directed rather than imposed by others. But immediately he flops into the crude circularity of arbitrary whim: "...the purpose of one's existence was as good as announced to the universe by the course of that existence itself," and "Daisuke held that one's natural activities constituted one's natural purposes."
In other words, "Whatever you happen to do, that's your purpose." It's a reversal of cause-and-effect, but it works wonders in rationalizing an aimless, pampered lifestyle and an ethical credo founded 100% in transitory whims.
His family is also prodding him to marry - a series of omiai or formal introduction ceremonies between prospective spouses had previously been rejected by Daisuke, one after another. The latest involves the daughter of a prospective business partner of Daisuke's father. Though not mandatory, arranged marriages were still common at that time, but Daisuke's age and the long string of past refusals have begun weighing against him. Though one would like to find admiration in Daisuke for refusing a marriage of convenience rather than of love, you as a reader can't even do that, for his motivation is primarily the same aimless, noncommittal attitude he applies to every other aspect of life, and...
As the story progresses he slowly realizes that he's fallen in love with the wife of his best friend Hiraoka, which begins to add weight to his ultimate refusal. But even this revelation is submerged in the miasma of Daisuke's scatterbrained past: Though he'd always been attracted to the woman, four years prior it was he who had, on an altruistic whim, urged his best friend to marry her instead of marrying her himself. So he's sitting in a trap entirely of his own construction, and any admiration of him, even for something as simple as rejecting convenience in favor of true love, is impossible.
Rather than accepting responsibility for his own past stupidity, trying to remain in his family's good graces and embracing an open future, he instead decides to declare himself to his friend's wife, and later, confess the whole thing to Hiraoka himself. Which of course brings his entire whim-driven world crashing down on him. Since Daisuke has remained a character for whom it's difficult-to-impossible to invest any sympathy, that outcome is as lacking in import as it is predictable.
In the end, I just didn't care much what happened to him. The only thing that kept me reading was Natsume's subtly whimsical writing style and my own curiosity about early 20th century Japan.
I can give Natsume points for that enjoyable writing style (I would like to read some of his earlier works, on the hope that they're better in actual thematic and dramatic content,) and there is always a value in reading fiction written in the past in that it offers a window into a time that no longer exists. That Natsume's style was sufficient to keep me reading a story about a complete wastrel is testimony to his skill as a writer. The brief bio on Natsume by Norma Moore Field that appears at the end is also interesting, but otherwise "And Then" is something to be read primarily for those marginal values - style and cultural history - rather than the story or its characters themselves.
[Warning: Contains significant spoilers!]
My first awareness of this book and its author came from the excellent 11-part 2013 Fuji TV drama "Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia's Case Files," or "Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou." The show - which is included in the streaming service Crunchyroll - is about a used bookshop run by a mysterious girl who has a Sherlock Holmes-like skill: She can unravel the history of a book's past owners just by examining it. Each episode deals with a specific book, and Episode 1 is a nifty story about long-buried family secrets that are tied up in Natsume's book "And Then." So of course I had to read it. (One down, ten to go...)
I can only assume that reading this in the original Japanese is the only way to derive its poetic value - Natsume was an acclaimed poet as well as novelist - but the story itself, though an interesting slice-of-life from turn-of-the-20th-century Tokyo, is essentially a pathology study.
The main character, Nagai Daisuke, is best described as a lazy, spoiled loser who submerges himself in quasi-intellectual rationalizations for living a contemptible, self-destructive life. He's the son of a prosperous businessman who gives Daisuke both a house of his own to live in, complete with a servant and a cook, and a generous periodic allowance. When he's not wandering aimlessly around the city, he spends his days in idle contemplation of everything from trivia like suppositions on how the colors that rooms are painted might affect moods, to nonsensical musings like staring at his legs and imagining them as "strange creatures." He's reached his thirties but remains utterly aimless, a whim-worshipping, scatterbrained dependent who rejects the idea of developing a self-sufficient career every time anyone brings it up. Most of the chastisements come from his father, whom he treats with contempt for no good reason, but also from his older brother and sister-in-law, for whom he retains a level of respect. He rationalizes his inertia by claiming that any work done for self sustenance - as opposed to work done "for its own sake" - is a "degenerate endeavor."
His continual reference to the idea that one "degrades" a thing merely by doing that thing, is Platonism - the belief that any given thing (or action,) is only pure and unsullied if it is completely separate from physical expression, i.e., from application in the real world. It's a thoroughly irrational belief, and at once an easy "out" and psychological burden for anyone who convinces himself that it's somehow true. I'm wanting to think Natsume wrote this into the Daisuke character as a way of presenting a cautionary lesson on irrationality, but it's equally likely he agreed with it.
So because Daisuke cannot conceive of a values-derived pride arising from having put in an honest day's work for one's sustenance, he projects that blindness onto the world around him and blames *it*. It's evasion raised to the level of an art form. When he gets around to contemplating the concept of a purposive life specifically, he begins with the valid observation that one's purpose in life is properly self-directed rather than imposed by others. But immediately he flops into the crude circularity of arbitrary whim: "...the purpose of one's existence was as good as announced to the universe by the course of that existence itself," and "Daisuke held that one's natural activities constituted one's natural purposes."
In other words, "Whatever you happen to do, that's your purpose." It's a reversal of cause-and-effect, but it works wonders in rationalizing an aimless, pampered lifestyle and an ethical credo founded 100% in transitory whims.
His family is also prodding him to marry - a series of omiai or formal introduction ceremonies between prospective spouses had previously been rejected by Daisuke, one after another. The latest involves the daughter of a prospective business partner of Daisuke's father. Though not mandatory, arranged marriages were still common at that time, but Daisuke's age and the long string of past refusals have begun weighing against him. Though one would like to find admiration in Daisuke for refusing a marriage of convenience rather than of love, you as a reader can't even do that, for his motivation is primarily the same aimless, noncommittal attitude he applies to every other aspect of life, and...
As the story progresses he slowly realizes that he's fallen in love with the wife of his best friend Hiraoka, which begins to add weight to his ultimate refusal. But even this revelation is submerged in the miasma of Daisuke's scatterbrained past: Though he'd always been attracted to the woman, four years prior it was he who had, on an altruistic whim, urged his best friend to marry her instead of marrying her himself. So he's sitting in a trap entirely of his own construction, and any admiration of him, even for something as simple as rejecting convenience in favor of true love, is impossible.
Rather than accepting responsibility for his own past stupidity, trying to remain in his family's good graces and embracing an open future, he instead decides to declare himself to his friend's wife, and later, confess the whole thing to Hiraoka himself. Which of course brings his entire whim-driven world crashing down on him. Since Daisuke has remained a character for whom it's difficult-to-impossible to invest any sympathy, that outcome is as lacking in import as it is predictable.
In the end, I just didn't care much what happened to him. The only thing that kept me reading was Natsume's subtly whimsical writing style and my own curiosity about early 20th century Japan.
I can give Natsume points for that enjoyable writing style (I would like to read some of his earlier works, on the hope that they're better in actual thematic and dramatic content,) and there is always a value in reading fiction written in the past in that it offers a window into a time that no longer exists. That Natsume's style was sufficient to keep me reading a story about a complete wastrel is testimony to his skill as a writer. The brief bio on Natsume by Norma Moore Field that appears at the end is also interesting, but otherwise "And Then" is something to be read primarily for those marginal values - style and cultural history - rather than the story or its characters themselves.
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