Kokoro

"The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight." -Anthony West, The New Yorker KOKORO ("the heart of things") explores emotions familiar to everyone-love and hate, hope and despair, companionship and loneliness. Sensei, a man seen against the rich background of old-new Japan, is outwardly successful; he has position, wealth, a charming wife. Deep in the heart of things, he is harried with a profound sense of isolation whose cure lies only in "faith, madness, or death." This book is the story of his long-hidden secret, divulged to a young friend who is threatened with a similar dilemma. The genius of Soseki, Japan's first great modern novelist, lies in his ability to express universal emotions with the beautiful restraint of the Japanese spirit.