Botchan

Book summary

An unloved younger son, blunt to the point of rudeness, a young man from Tokyo takes a post as a mathematics teacher in a small town on Shikoku. His pupils put him to the test from his very first weeks, in class and then during his first night on duty at the school, and the staff room proves even more devious, with its intrigues and its nicknames. Unable to scheme or to compromise, he takes sides, makes enemies and prepares a revenge of his own kind. The novel explores clumsy honesty, the hypocrisy of institutions and homesickness. Sōseki turns it into a brisk comedy, carried by a spoken voice that passes judgement out loud.