Specs
Where to find
Aozora(Free - Public Domain)
Soseki Project(This is part of the Soseki project and thus is fully annotated in English with read along available)
https://youtu.be/uPXpHYs7y3s(Audiobook)
Reviews
(4.13/5)May 23, 2026
March 13, 2023
In the modernized editions the kanji is not as difficult as other books at this rating, I think. However the content and grammar are somewhat challenging, and I found it long, this book taking me 12+ hours to read.
January 6, 2022
The second-most sold japanese novel, this is a lot gentler than the Dazais and Mishimas i've reviewed. Also deals with death, also deals with suicide, but does so much more as a clear lesson it wants to teach you. This is about romance, and about certain decisions and the impact they can have, about regret and perhaps chiefly about a set of morals.
Out of all the classic authors i've read (Mishima, Dazai, Fukunaga, Tanizaki, Ibuse), this i would say is the easiest to read language-wise. Very calm and not too caught up in philosophical musings. Great entry point into classic authors.
February 8, 2025
November 4, 2024
January 4, 2022
June 13, 2026
January 17, 2026
November 15, 2025
November 10, 2025
May 20, 2025
February 1, 2025
December 19, 2024
November 22, 2024
August 18, 2024
July 14, 2024
March 17, 2024
February 7, 2024
January 22, 2024
July 26, 2023
Gradings
Why can't I grade this item?
Activity
No activities
A surprisingly easy-to-read classic
I came into this book expecting it to be quite difficult, but I found that it's written in such a way that you can infer the meaning of difficult words from the context most of the time. Because of this, I found myself learning new words and grammar without even using a dictionary. So, even though the grammar/vocabulary itself might be difficult, the writing style is relatively simple. After all, the book is written basically in a conversational style, from the point of view of two regular people.
On top of that, the story builds slowly to an extremely captivating climax, and I found myself become more and more engrossed the further in I got. I was so keen to read to the end that I found myself peeking at the pages near the end (not a good thing to do, of course), like the main character does when he gets a long letter from his friend Sensei.