Kokoro

In “Kokoro,” Soseki has written a beautiful, introspective novel that examines the weight of one's past upon their spirit. The first half of the book outlines the relationship between a young narrator and “Sensei,” his mentor whose troubling past has embittered him toward the rest of humanity. These chapters are deliberately unsatisfying to the reader, as Sensei's past remains untold and the narrator's search for worldly guidance is never quite fulfilled. (I won't treat this next part as a spoiler as it is in the Narrator's Introduction...) This section culminates in Sensei's eventual suicide, and all is finally revealed in his farewell letter to our narrator, which occupies the rest of the novel. Here, “Kokoro” deftly becomes a letter not to the narrator but to the reader, as we feel the grasp of humanity's darkest traits. “Kokoro” is a heavy book, dealing with such issues as death, deception, and loneliness, but it treads emotional ground that feels uncanny in its familiarity. Despite being written in the early 1900s, the characters' struggles with family, unemployment and academic accomplishment also appear as relevant today as ever before. The book's curious structure may alienate some readers, but the whirlwind of emotions give the narrative a quick pace. The book's ending may seem abrupt, but the story will follow you long beyond the final page.