Book Description As New Dimensions: 0.7 x 5.1 x 8 inches. Weight: 9.9 ounces. Calligraphy by Kosaka Misuzu. Soseki's acutely observed recollections of his unique experience as a Japanese scholar in Victorian London. "The two years I spent in London were the most unpleasant years of my life. Among English gentlemen, I lived in misery, like a poor dog that had strayed among a pack of wolves." In October 1900 a brilliant but largely unknown Japanese scholar arrived in London to commence two years of intense study. The scholar would later become the most celebrated Japanese writer of all time, Natsume Soseki, and produce a dazzling collection of novels, memoirs, criticism and short stories that form the bedrock of modern Japanese literature. The spectacle of a Japanese visitor to Victorian London was a rare one, and Soseki's acute observations contain unique snapshots of London life. Against the backdrop of these images, Soseki develops profound reflections on universal themes. The river Thames is transformed into the river Styx; the Tower of London becomes a gateway to the Underworld; mysterious boarding houses and the spirits of the dead are encountered through relics and memoir; time itself is regained and explored. This new translation provides the perfect introduction to the work of one of the world s greatest authors, accompanied for the first time with a comprehensive critical introduction and a wry fictional account of a meeting between Soseki and Sherlock Holmes. We know little about the literary baggage that informs Japanese preconceptions of Britain. It's rather a shock to discover that the most familiar and most compelling is a vision of Victorian London at the turn of the 20th century by a young Japanese scholar, one of Japan's most famous modern writers, who lived for two years in boarding houses and met almost no one. The Dickensian London he brilliantly describes is so close to virtual reality that in one short story Soseki himself meets Sherlock Holmes.' - The Times 'Scrupulously and enthusiastically introduced and annotated' - Anthony Thwaite, Sunday Telegraph 'What makes this collection so fascinating is that Soseki viewed England as much from the viewpoint of an anthropologist as from that of a creative writer . . . one is never in doubt that one is in the presence of greatness. The translator, Damian Flanagan, has provided an excellent introduction and ample notes. I have always thought that of all English novelists it is E.M. Forster that Soseki most resembles. Flanagan, whether deliberately or not, catches Forster's authorial tone with uncanny accuracy.' - The Spectator NATSUME SOSEKI (1867-1916) is one of the great writers of the modern world. Educated at Tokyo Imperial University, he was sent to England in 1900 as a government scholar. As one of the first Japanese writers to be influenced by Western culture, his various works are read by virtually all Japanese, and contemporary authors in Japan continue to be influenced by his ouvre.
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