And Then by Natsume Sōseki

And Then by Natsume Sōseki

Sorekara (And Then, 1909) by Natsume Soseki is a crowning achievement of modern Japanese literature. It stands as the crucial middle installment of Soseki’s famous first trilogy, positioned precisely between Sanshiro (1908) and Mon (The Gate, 1910).

Written during the late Meiji era—a period marked by rapid, overwhelming Westernization and modernization in Japan—the novel is a profound, psychologically piercing critique of the country's shifting social structures, economic materialism, and the agonizing alienation of the modern individual.

The narrative centers on Daisuke Nagai, a brilliant, over-educated, and fiercely cynical thirty-year-old man. Daisuke is the quintessential 高等遊民 (高等遊民 / koto yumin, or "higher-class idler"). Born into a wealthy, prestigious bourgeois family, he refuses to seek employment, view marriage as a serious institution, or participate in the vulgar rat-race of Meiji capitalism. Instead, he lives a highly aestheticized, solitary life of leisure—reading European literature, listening to classical music, and contemplating the universe while living entirely off his father's generous allowance.

Daisuke views himself as a superior, detached observer of humanity, looking down on those who compromise their intellectual integrity for financial survival.

However, his carefully curated, comfortable isolation completely shatters when his old college friend, Hiraoka, returns to Tokyo. Once a promising young man, Hiraoka has been financially ruined by a bank scandal, traumatized by the loss of his infant child, and reduced to a bitter, heavy-drinking shadow of his former self. Crucially, Hiraoka is accompanied by his quiet, delicate wife, Michiyo.

Years earlier, Daisuke was deeply in love with Michiyo. Yet, trapped by his own philosophical detachment and a misguided sense of chivalrous friendship, he actively stepped aside and arranged for Hiraoka to marry her instead. Reunited with Michiyo in the present, Daisuke is confronted with a horrifying reality: she is trapped in a miserable, poverty-stricken marriage with a husband who neglects her, and her physical health is rapidly deteriorating.

As Daisuke watches her suffer, his intellectual shield evaporates, replaced by a desperate, burning realization that he threw away his one chance at genuine human connection. To save Michiyo, Daisuke must make a choice: continue living a comfortable, hypocritical life of wealth, or follow his true emotions, declare his love for another man's wife, and face absolute financial ruin, societal exile, and the furious rejection of his traditional family.

Language: English.

Genre: Romance.

Binding: সেলাই করা বাইন্ডিং

Quality: Premium Quality Books.

Printing: High Quality Printing.

Paper: Eye Friendly paper (Cream White)

Cover: Matt cover (Paperback).