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‘The curtain veiling the mysterious things called the
past rending itself in two and reflecting ghostly light over
the twentieth century is the Tower of London.’
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.’ - Spectator
NATSUME SOSEKI (1867 - 1916) is Japan’s most revered
author, whose works continue to attract vast quantities
of critical scrutiny and debate. His influence, both on contemporary
Japanese authors and throughout East Asia and beyond, has
been immense.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
BOTCHAN
THE
GATE
THE
THREE-CORNERED WORLD
Click here to see our online gallery
of the launch night.
Published with the
assistance of the Japan Foundation and the
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
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