Sanshiro cover art

Sanshiro

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Andrew Koji, best known for Warrior and Snake Eyes. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Murakami.

One of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the first time in his life to experience the constantly moving 'real world' of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki's lively humour and our awareness of Sanshiro's doomed innocence, the novel comes to life. Sanshiro is also penetrating social and cultural commentary.

© Natsume Soseki 2009 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature
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Interesting as a slice of life in 1900s Tokyo. As a character, Sanshiro is an irritatingly wet, slightly pompous young man, with dubious taste in friends. The writing style is rather overblown- presumably deliberately, to match his character? Quite reminiscent of the equally navel-gazing Jerome in Gide’s La Porte Etroite. Interesting that the two books were written a year apart (1908, 1909) by authors almost the same age (b 1867, 1869). I struggle to see what Murakami (who provides an introduction) sees in this book - his own Kafka Tamura is much more engaging.
The performance by Andrew Koji is outstanding.

1900s Tokyo Slice of Life

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