Sōseki: Modern Japan's Greatest Novelist

Asia Perspectives: History, Society, and Culture

by John Nathan

Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) was the father of the modern novel in Japan, chronicling the plight of bourgeois characters caught between familiar modes of living and the onslaught of Western values and conventions. Yet even though generations of Japanese high school students have been expected to memorize passages from his novels and he is routinely voted the most important Japanese writer in national polls, he remains less familiar to Western readers than authors such as Kawabata, Tanizaki, and Mishima.In this biography, John Nathan provides a lucid and vivid account of a great writer laboring to create a remarkably original oeuvre in spite of the physical and mental illness that plagued him all his life. He traces Sōseki’s complex and contradictory character, offering rigorous close readings of Sōseki’s groundbreaking experiments with narrative strategies, irony, and multiple points of view as well as recounting excruciating hospital stays and recurrent attacks of paranoid delusion. Drawing on previously untranslated letters and diaries, published reminiscences, and passages from Sōseki’s fiction, Nathan renders intimate scenes of the writer’s life and distills a portrait of a tormented yet unflaggingly original author. The first full-length study of Sōseki in fifty years, Nathan’s biography elevates Sōseki to his rightful place as a great synthesizer of literary traditions and a brilliant chronicler of universal experience who, no less than his Western contemporaries, anticipated the modernism of the twentieth century.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Japanese Literature

337 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2018

Reviews

[Meike · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Unless we're prepared to destroy our nerves or go mad or be imprisoned if we are wrong, we'll never be men of literature." (Soseki)

Sōseki Natsume seems to be as beloved in Japan as Jane Austen is in Britain, and his popularity in the West is rising since Haruki Murakami declared him to be his favorite writer. Soseki (1867-1916) was the first major Japanese author who incorporated Western literary techniques and viewpoints into his novels and thus revolutionized Japanese literature - at the same time, he was very critical of the West, as he was well aware that the opening of Japan towards Western values and traditions came with a price.

Nathan excels when he describes Soseki as a person: His unhappy childhood, his lifelong physical and mental ailments, his abusive tendencies towards his wife and children, his feverish working habits, his narcissism, his outlook on life - Nathan paints a vivid picture, and he has dug up numerous letters and interviews to prove his reconstructions.

Nevertheless, the book falls short when it comes to discussing Soseki's critical viewpoints towards Westernization and industrialization as they appear in his novels. About Soseki's time in London, Nathan writes: "(...) perhaps he was not entirely wrong, whether he knew it or not, when he claimed that he was part Westerner and part Japanese. Certainly, the pain that this cultural bifurcation caused him in his creative life reflected Japan's confusion at this confounding moment of transformation." The nature and extent of this transformation is not made clear later in the book or pointed out in Soseki's texts.

The summaries of Soseki's works are very long, and it does not always become clear why all these details are mentioned. Nathan mainly focuses on Soseki's (modern) evocation of characters and classic topic of self-interest vs. love, but hardly points out how he discusses wider social and political topics in his work.

Some time before I read this book, I read Henry Scott Stokes' biography of Yukio Mishima, The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima: Both Soseki and Mishima were struggling all their lives while walking the line between Western and Japanese culture, between tradition and modernity, and both were highly complex and not necessarily particularly sympathetic characters (Mishima became an extremist and ended his life by committing seppuku after a failed coup d'état). In comparison though, Stokes was better able to highlight different aspects of Mishima's literary achievements and importance, the picture felt more three-dimensional.

Still, Nathan is very obviously an extremely qualified expert and the insights he delivers are well thought out, conclusive and instructive. He also presents and discusses different opinions on Soseki's work, which I appreciated. There is no question why this professor for Japanese culture is widely acclaimed for his translations and research.

[Nicky Neko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely amazing. Fascinating biography of an incredible writer. My one criticism was when it slipped too much into textual commentary on Sōseki's novels. But overall, fantastic.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, we have a biography, in English, of Japan's greatest writer (and my favorite author), Natsume Sōseki. Completely readable and not overly scholarly, John Nathan (translator of Kenzaburō Ōe and Yukio Mishima) gives the us the full story of Soseki's life, utilizing the abundance of letters and correspondence he left behind, public records, and memoirs of those close to him. He also gives analysis of many of his major novels ("I Am a Cat," "Sanshirō," "Kokoro," etc.) and pays a lot of attention to his haiku (a bit much, as far as I'm concerned). This book is great and I honestly was practically drooling as I read it voraciously, but I faced one major disappointment. He says basically NOTHING about my favorite novel, "The Miner." He mentions the title in passing but otherwise completely excludes it, and that is what I wanted to know about the most! He says more about minor works like "The 210th Day" and the borefest "To the Spring Equinox and Beyond" -- he spends pages on "The Poppy," which has never even been translated into English. It's baffling, inexplicable, and for me, as a fan, a major blow. That is why I docked a star and am rambling on with ambivalence.

[Akylina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natsume Soseki was undoubtedly one of Japan's biggest authors and literary figures. Having read a few of his novels and stories, I was vaguely aware of some bits and pieces surrounding his life, so when I found out that a proper biography was out I was ecstatic.

John Nathan has done a really impressive job compiling the life and accomplishments of such a great literary figure in this tome. His prose was academic enough while also being accessible to non-academics and his writing style and way of orginising his content was very engaging and kept me wanting to continue reading. One thing I did not like as much was the analysis of big chunks of Soseki's novels, which seemed a bit too extensive. Perhaps I could have appreciated them more had I read the entirety of his oeuvre and was undaunted by possible spoilers.

Soseki's life story is truly fascinating to read, even though his character was not as praise-worthy as his literary production and contribution was. Nonetheless, no one can deny his massive role in shaping modern Japanese literature and the author of this book has done a wonderful job letting us in on some of his genius.

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Avery Rota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si sofferma ampiamente sulle opere principali di Sōseki. Ho apprezzato la presenza delle varie interpretazioni, anche opposte tra loro, disseminate lungo tutto il testo.
Capitano a volte alcuni passaggi un po' meno scorrevoli ma tutto sommato è un testo facilmente leggibile.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography of the Japanese writer Soseki – detailed, well-researched and well-written, informative and engaging.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended.

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I have been catching up on reading the English translated novels of Natsume Soseki, so having read the lion share of them I was looking forward to John Nathan's Soseki: Modern Japan's Greatest Novelist (2018). The biography is divided into 17 chapters and look at significant periods of Soseki's life such as Chapter 4 "The Provinces" about his experiences as a teacher firs tin Matsuyama and then Kumamoto. Other chapters look at his experiences in London as well as significant periods when wrote some of his more famous novels. It seems the attention to certain novels are driven by Nathan's interest rather than general regard. For example he chose not to examine The Miner, the last novel I read by Soseki which has been pointed out by Haruki Murakami as a one of his favorite Soseki novels and a turning point in his writing style. He also devotes a significant number of pages to Light and Darkness, the last unpublished novel, more than earlier better known works such as I Am a Cat and Botchan. Overall, it was a pretty interesting and incisive look at one of Japan's greatest novels.