The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry and it is rich in understanding and insight. The translation by Edwin McClellan is extremely good. --Anthony West The New Yorker Kokoro which means the heart of things explores emotions familiar to everyone--love and hate hope and despair companionship and loneliness. Sensei a man seen against the rich background of old Japan entering the modern era is outwardly successful. He has position wealth a charming wife. But deep in the heart of things he is harried with a profound sense of isolation whose cure lies only in faith madness or death. His long-hidden secret divulged to a young friend who faces a similar dilemma is told with mounting intensity. Sensei confesses the crime of his young manhood a crime in which with all the appearance of innocence he destroyed his best friend the woman he loved--and himself. The genius of Natsume Soseki Japan s greatest modern novelist lies in his ability to express universal emotions with the beautiful restraint of the Japanese spirit. Under his pen themes which have become almost hackneyed take on new fascination and vigor.