{"title":"Natsume Soseki","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNatsume Soseki\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a profound exploration of human nature and society through his compelling works of general fiction. His novels often delve into themes of identity, alienation, and the complexities of interpersonal relationships, set against the backdrop of early 20th-century Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect a blend of wit, subtle humour, and deep psychological insight in titles such as \u003cem\u003eI Am a Cat\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eKokoro\u003c\/em\u003e. Soseki’s storytelling invites reflection on both personal and societal change, making his works timeless classics in modern Japanese literature.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"botchan-by-natsume-soseki-9780241675281","title":"Botchan","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew in Penguin Japanese Classics - Japan's favourite novel about growing up and finding yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIntroducing Penguin Japanese Classics - a collection of some of Japan's most celebrated and ground-breaking 20th-century writers, with covers inspired by Japanese art and design. Taking us from a sun-drenched affair in a seaside town to an underground 'ark' full of shadows and eccentrics, with stops at mountains of skulls, lonely apartments, and boarding school dormitories, this series is perfect for new and long-time readers of Japanese literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBotchan\u003c\/em\u003e is a modern young man from the Tokyo metropolis, sent to the ultra-traditional Matsuyama district as a Maths teacher after the death of his parents. Cynical, rebellious, and immature, Botchan finds himself facing several tests, from the pupils, the staff, and from his own as-yet-unformed nature, as he finds his place in the world. Beloved by readers in Japan, \u003cem\u003eBotchan\u003c\/em\u003e is as funny, poignant, and memorable as it was when first published.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Full of appealing characters... vividly portrayed and unique' - Harumi Murakami\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated by J. Cohn\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46494536663276,"sku":"9780241675281","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241675281.jpg?v=1748457259"},{"product_id":"botchan-by-natsume-soseki-9780141391885","title":"Botchan","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of Japan's most treasured novels, new to Penguin Classics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBotchan\u003c\/em\u003e is a modern young man from the Tokyo metropolis, sent to the ultra-traditional Matsuyama district as a Maths teacher after the death of his parents. Cynical, rebellious, and immature, Botchan finds himself facing several tests, from the pupils — prone to playing tricks on their new, naive teacher; the staff — vain, immoral, and in danger of becoming a bad influence on Botchan; and from his own as-yet-unformed nature, as he finds his place in the world. One of the most popular novels in Japan where it is considered a classic of adolescence, \u003cem\u003eBotchan\u003c\/em\u003e is as funny, poignant, and memorable as it was when first published, over 100 years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn J. Cohn's introduction to his colourful translation, he discusses \u003cem\u003eBotchan\u003c\/em\u003e's success, the book's clash between Western intellectualism and traditional Japanese values, and the importance of names and nicknames in the novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46494540398828,"sku":"9780141391885","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4a30334e506bf2d30a8c3ed993334bd8.jpg?v=1794534663"},{"product_id":"kokoro-by-natsume-soseki-9780143106036","title":"Kokoro","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.\" - Haruki Murakami\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe father of modern Japanese literature's best-loved novel, in its first new English translation in half a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNo collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's \u003cem\u003eKokoro\u003c\/em\u003e, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, \u003cem\u003eKokoro\u003c\/em\u003e—meaning \"heart\"—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls \"Sensei.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHaunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt. He reveals, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student's struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterised Japan in the early twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46495086117100,"sku":"9780143106036","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/25862343482238.jpg?v=1748468423"},{"product_id":"sanshiro-by-natsume-soseki-9780140455625","title":"Sanshiro","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJay Rubin's translation of Soseki's cherished novel, new to Penguin Classics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old \u003cem\u003eSanshiro\u003c\/em\u003e 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. \u003cem\u003eSanshiro\u003c\/em\u003e is also penetrating social and cultural commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532663967980,"sku":"9780140455625","price":19.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/27444023482237.jpg?v=1749325997"},{"product_id":"i-am-a-cat-by-natsume-soseki-9781784879792","title":"I Am a Cat","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Japanese Cat-Lit Classic. Now published in a new translation by Nick Bradley, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Cat and the City\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover the original Japanese Cat classic, now in a vibrant new translation by Nick Bradley, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Cat and the City\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI am a Cat\u003c\/em\u003e. But I still don't have a name...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnce a stray kitten, \u003cem\u003eI Am a Cat\u003c\/em\u003e's narrator finds himself adopted by a local scholar and thrown headfirst into the absurd upper middle-class world of Meiji-era Japan. Now a noble but somewhat world-weary observer, he has ample opportunity to dissect the strange ways and convoluted conversations of the human race.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published at the turn of the 20th century and regarded as one of Japan's most iconic classics, \u003cem\u003eI Am a Cat\u003c\/em\u003e is a captivating exploration of identity, society, and the often bewildering nature of the human condition—all seen through the eyes of a very special, uncompromising cat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA biting satire of Meiji-era Japan\u003c\/em\u003e - Jessie Burton, Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSoseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature\u003c\/em\u003e - Haruki Murakami\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46629129257196,"sku":"9781784879792","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/13412753482823.jpg?v=1751940872"},{"product_id":"kokoro-by-natsume-soseki-9781805330585","title":"Kokoro","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this melancholy and delicately written Japanese classic, a student befriends a reclusive elder at a beach resort, who he calls Sensei.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs the two grow closer, Sensei remains unwilling to share the inner pain that has consumed his life and the shameful secret behind his monthly pilgrimages to a Tokyo cemetery. But when the student writes to Sensei after his graduation to seek out advice, the past rushes unbidden to the surface, and Sensei at last reveals the tale of romantic betrayal and unresolved guilt that led to his withdrawal from the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSet at the end of the Meiji era and rife with subtle, psychological insight, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is one of Japan's bestselling novels of all time and a stunning meditation on the essence of loneliness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072603537644,"sku":"9781805330585","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/21320153482830.jpg?v=1765118923"},{"product_id":"sanshiro-by-natsume-soseki-9780241739839","title":"Sanshiro","description":"A gorgeous new clothbound edition of Soseki's cherished novel, with an introduction by Murakami\n\n'Even bigger than Japan is the inside of your head. Don't ever surrender yourself - not to Japan, not to anything'\n\nSoseki's work of gentle humour and doomed innocence depicts twenty-three-year-old Sanshiro, a recent graduate from a provincial college, as he begins university life in the big city of Tokyo. Baffled and excited by the traffic, the academics and - most of all - the women, Sanshiro must find his way amongst the sophisticates that fill his new life. An incisive social and cultural commentary, Sanshiro is also a subtle study of first love, tradition and modernization, and the idealism of youth against the cynicism of middle age.\n\nThis is a Clothbound Classics edition of Soseki's beloved novel, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality, colourful and tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Masterfully translated by Jay Rubin, this edition also includes an introduction by Haruki Murakami.","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288747557100,"sku":"9780241739839","price":40.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/599d395ce79954f08a0375ce24818e14.jpg?v=1770604856"},{"product_id":"the-gate-by-natsume-soseki-9781590175873","title":"The Gate","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of late-Meiji Tokyo. Resigned, following years of exile and misfortune, to the bitter consequences of having married without their families' consent, and unable to have children of their own, Sosuke and Oyone find the delicate equilibrium of their household upset by a new obligation to meet the educational expenses of Sosuke's brash younger brother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile an unlikely new friendship appears to offer a way out of this bind, it also soon threatens to dredge up a past that could once again force them to flee the capital. Desperate and torn, Sosuke finally resolves to travel to a remote Zen mountain monastery to see if perhaps there, through meditation, he can find a way out of his predicament.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis moving and deceptively simple story, a melancholy tale shot through with glimmers of joy, beauty, and gentle wit, is an understated masterpiece by the first great writer of modern Japan. At the end of his life, Natsume Soseki declared \u003cem\u003eThe Gate\u003c\/em\u003e, originally published in 1910, to be his favourite among all his novels. This new translation at last captures the original's oblique grace and also corrects numerous errors and omissions that marred the first English version.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47616939294956,"sku":"9781590175873","price":52.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781590175873-the-gate.jpg?v=1778486524"},{"product_id":"an-undesirable-friend-by-natsume-soseki-9781529983654","title":"An Undesirable Friend","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnjoy a \u003cstrong\u003eBRIEF ENCOUNTER\u003c\/strong\u003e with Natsume Soseki, Japan's greatest modern novelist, in this sly, comic tale of cats, humans, and the absurdities of friendship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Japan's most famous, classic novelist comes a remarkable gem of wit, irony, and feline observation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA stray kitten, catapulted to literary fame, loudly observes the world of Meiji Japan in all its absurdity. But he's not the only cat in the neighbourhood, and as he rallies against the stupidity of human habit, he grows closer to the sophisticated Miss Calico—but he can't hide his own inadequacies for long.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBRIEF ENCOUNTERS:\u003c\/strong\u003e classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47976648671468,"sku":"9781529983654","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529983654-an-undesirable-friend.jpg?v=1784694010"},{"product_id":"the-gate-by-natsume-soseki-9781805332510","title":"The Gate","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumble clerk Sosuke and his wife Oyone live in a modest house at the bottom of a cliff. 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