{"product_id":"and-then","title":"And Then by Natsume Sōseki","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAnd Then by Natsume Sōseki\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eSorekara\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e (\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"10\"\u003eAnd Then\u003c\/i\u003e, 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 \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"208\"\u003eSanshiro\u003c\/i\u003e (1908) and \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"228\"\u003eMon\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"233\"\u003eThe Gate\u003c\/i\u003e, 1910).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"1\"\u003eWritten 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003eThe narrative centers on \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"25\"\u003eDaisuke Nagai\u003c\/b\u003e, a brilliant, over-educated, and fiercely cynical thirty-year-old man. Daisuke is the quintessential \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"140\"\u003e高等遊民\u003c\/i\u003e (高等遊民 \/ \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"153\"\u003ekoto yumin\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003eDaisuke views himself as a superior, detached observer of humanity, looking down on those who compromise their intellectual integrity for financial survival.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eHowever, his carefully curated, comfortable isolation completely shatters when his old college friend, \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"103\"\u003eHiraoka\u003c\/b\u003e, 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, \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"388\"\u003eMichiyo\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eYears 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"8\"\u003eAs 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage: English.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre: Romance.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding: সেলাই করা বাইন্ডিং\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuality: Premium Quality Books.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinting: High Quality Printing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaper: Eye Friendly paper (Cream White)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCover: Matt cover (Paperback).\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Books BD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597005766841,"sku":null,"price":265.0,"currency_code":"BDT","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0780\/0874\/6169\/files\/And_Then.jpg?v=1781637255","url":"https:\/\/royalbooksbd.com\/products\/and-then","provider":"Royal Books BD","version":"1.0","type":"link"}