Back to Basic

Yesterday (was it yesterday? No, it was the day before. Hahaha..) I saw a book in Gramedia by chance. It's supposed to be an old Japan's literature that's really famous by Natsume Soseki.

It's about a naughty Botchan who was not loved in his own family except by his undertaker? caregiver? old maid? and finally when his parents died, his older brother sold their house and they went on their separate way. So far I've read like 3/4 of it and maybe there's not much of the plot (mostly it's only telling the everyday life of him as a young, new teacher in a rural area with his "edo-pride" and integrity and closely held self-value and belief and honesty, etc, etc)

But it is interesting... Because as the novel is written in the first-pov, we read it knowing what he's thinking about (almost feels like a diary and sometimes I wonder if it's kinda the writter's own experiences put in writtings?) and we can see that although his values and believes are right (with honesty and integrity at the top of the list) but his way of doing things is in a way too extreme.

This novel reminds me that sometimes, even though the values held is good, but sometimes the way we do things aren't as good. We made some mistakes through the way we see things. And not all people view things the same way. So we still need to consider the situations and the people around us. To think outside the box.

Well, I believe we know this through our own experience but the way the author put it in the book is also interesting to read. (Though if you're looking for those full of adventures/romance/ups and downs, this book is not really for you) ^^