Pathway to Japanese Literature
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And ThenAuthor: Natsume Soseki
| Original Title | それから |
|---|---|
| Author | 夏目 漱石 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a quiet Tokyo household, Daisuke navigates life with a detached curiosity, his days marked by introspective rituals—monitoring his heartbeat, contemplating mortality, and observing the world through a lens of existential detachment. A man of refined tastes and idle privilege, he shares his home with Kadono, a lethargic student lodger whose simplicity both amuses and frustrates him. Their mundane routine is disrupted by the arrival of Hiraoka, an old friend whose return unearths unresolved tensions: a troubled marriage, financial ruin, and unspoken regrets. As Daisuke’s domineering father pressures him to embrace societal duties and marriage, he resists, clinging to his philosophy that true fulfillment lies beyond conventional success. Yet shadows of the past linger—Hiraoka’s cryptic motives, fleeting mentions of a lost child, and a haunting portrait of a woman hint at deeper entanglements. Amid cherry blossoms and whispered conversations, Daisuke’s carefully curated detachment begins to fray, revealing a man caught between the weight of expectation and the elusive pursuit of meaning. Will his defiance sustain him, or will the echoes of duty and desire pull him into a world he’s long avoided? |
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