三四郎

This is basically a coming-of-age story where 三四郎 arrives in Tokyo in the early 1900s to study at university and finds city life a massive culture shock compared to rural Kyuushuu. He finds himself torn between the traditional rural life he's just left, the modern urban life of a rapidly modernising Tokyo, and the life of the mind of the university scholar. I liked it because I find that period of history interesting and because the book (like 吾輩は猫である) includes various musings on modernity and the East-vs-West clash that had been playing out in Japan since the start of the Meiji era.

It is not super easy to read, because it's classic literature; but it is much easier to read overall than 吾輩は猫である.