Kokoro by Natsume Soseki (Sōseki) (Author), Matt Shea (Narrator)
Requirements: .MP3 Player, 64 kbps, Duration: 7 hours 8 minutes, 195 MB
Overview: Natsume Soseki is one of Japan’s most notable authors of the 20th century. In fact, he is so esteemed that the government put his picture on the 1000-yen note. Kokoro was published only two years before his death in 1916. It was originally published serially in the Asahi Shimbun Newspaper under the title "Kokoro: Sensei no Isho [Sensei’s Testament]." However, it was later published in novel form under the simpler title of "Kokoro" which means "heart, or the heart of things."
The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei" (or teacher). It continues the theme of isolation developed in Soseki’s immediately preceding works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame. Other important themes in the novel include the changing times (particularly the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era), the changing roles and ideals of women, and intergenerational change in values, the role of family, the importance of the self versus the group, the cost of weakness, and identity.
Soseki does not use very many names in the novel. The narrator (the college student) tells the story from his point of view. He is never referred to other being called "you." Sensei’s real name is never known. Kokoro is a psychologically stimulating novel that has kept readers debating it since it was written.
Genre: Audiobooks > Fiction | General; Classics
Download Instructions:
http://destyy.com/wVfYVr
http://destyy.com/wVfYVo
