Frances Lincoln The Gate

NYRB sempre incrível

este libro se dice que es el favorito de soseki. aun no lo leo pero llego en perfectas condiciones. tengo muchas ganas de leerlo.

A reader from a Western culture cannot approach this novel in the same way one would a novel published in the West. Japanese themselves see Soseki as one of their greatest authors; certainly the one best able to convey late 19th, early 20th century Japanese sensibilities. If you want to better understand how and why Japan is different from North America or Europe, even though superficially it might seem similar, then this is a must-read book. Please give it time, your patience with what may seem a slow-moving story, and you will be amply rewarded. It can become one of those stories you enjoy returning to many times, even when you "know the story".

A quiet tale of the understated love between a civil servant lacking in ambition and his 'passive' wife may seem like small beer in the big scale of events. You could dismiss this novel as a quaint story of domesticity with a charm like that of a period drama and not much more. But you would be wrong. Within the prosaic framework of a kitchen sink drama can be found the deepest questioning of the human condition. To someone brought up with a western imagination it would be easy to identify the behaviour of Sosuke, the novel's protagonist, as stoic resolution. A man who simply accepts the hand he has been dealt with in life and who recognises the futility in trying to alter his circumstances. But there is a darker side to his situation. His love for Oyone has been tainted and compromised by the betrayal of his best friend and the 'theft' of his wife.Thus Sosuke And Oyone come to see all their misfortunes, including the loss of their children, as the penalty for their forbidden love. In a moment of crisis, Sosuke goes through the 'Gate' to seek a spiritual enlightenment but discovers that he is not suited to the cloistered world of the monks. He does not reject religion, nor does he find himself lacking the will to follow the buddhist path, but he simply finds it less preferable to the life he has with Oyone despite the 'quiet desperation' in which they live their lives. Sosuke has achieved a form of serenity all the more potent because he fails to consciously recognise it. It is a serenity tinged with melancholy and imperfections but filled with love. While a bridge provides access to what would otherwise not be accessible, a gate is both an entrance to a new world and a barrier. Sosuke is able to cross the barrier but choses to return to the world he knows and loves. The path to enlightenment offered by religion consists not only in hardships but in sacrifices. Sosuke already experiences hardships in his everyday life but he is not prepared to sacrifice the love he has for Oyone. The path to enlightenment, it seems, can be a selfish one, while the path of love can be one of sacrifice and selflessness.

Natsume Soseki passed away in December 1916 and his books are still making an impact now. 'The Gate' tells the story of Sosuke and Oyone, a middle aged couple who unfortunately have been ex-communicated due to their relationship (Oyone was married previously). The story explores Sosuke and Oyone relationship, a relationship which initially began in passion but as the years have went by has became something more, something they both cherish very much in a quiet but loving manner. Everything changes when Sosuke's younger Koroku moves in with Sosuke and Oyone, they are faced with another face from their past, Koroku does not respect Sosuke because of the life he left behind to be with Oyone. 'The Gate' is about love, family, religion and finding your place in the world, Sosuke feels he has lost his place in the world and tries to change it. 'The Gate' is truly a beautiful book, Natsume Soseki's description of Japanese life is written beautifully, and his descriptions of their surroundings are breathtaking. A lovely book that makes you thinks.