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lvyy's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I’m still not sure whether I’m meant to like Botchan… he’s certainly praised much in the novel by Kiyo and in the foreword but as I reader I found him a bit too simpleminded.
Botchan is not the type to think ahead and acts irrationally when he feels insulted. He often judges the countryside people to be rural, poorly uneducated, sly hearted, etc. all the while professing his own moral high ground as he is able to act forthrightly and without need for masks. Whether or not this is true, he certainly has a way of stereotyping the people he meets in the countryside city. And ultimately wields violence as ‘heaven’s judgement’ against Red-Shirt and Clown after he spies on them potentially meeting dancing girls in a hotel with Porcupine.
After beating them up, Botchan finally resigns as he so often threatened to do in his mind and returns to Tokyo to be with Kiyo.
Is there some stranger interpretation of his relationship with Kiyo - half a mother to him, governess, attendant, and to his 2nd landlady his ‘wife’? At least Botchan can recognise her devotion to him after he leaves her for that month to teach.
Botchan is not the type to think ahead and acts irrationally when he feels insulted. He often judges the countryside people to be rural, poorly uneducated, sly hearted, etc. all the while professing his own moral high ground as he is able to act forthrightly and without need for masks. Whether or not this is true, he certainly has a way of stereotyping the people he meets in the countryside city. And ultimately wields violence as ‘heaven’s judgement’ against Red-Shirt and Clown after he spies on them potentially meeting dancing girls in a hotel with Porcupine.
After beating them up, Botchan finally resigns as he so often threatened to do in his mind and returns to Tokyo to be with Kiyo.
Is there some stranger interpretation of his relationship with Kiyo - half a mother to him, governess, attendant, and to his 2nd landlady his ‘wife’? At least Botchan can recognise her devotion to him after he leaves her for that month to teach.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, and Death of parent
dabmo22's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
soy_camilagarcia_'s review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jen52's review against another edition
3.0
Having previously read Kokoro for a class, I was expecting more from this book. In a way, it seems to be the coming of age story, where the rambunctious trouble-maker grows up and is forced to learn to deal with the kids that resemble how he once was. While it was quite funny and entertaining, I'm a bit disappointed.
marijacr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
atilatamarindo's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
dyno8426's review against another edition
4.0
Botchan is bound to remind you of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye if you have read it, and more so if you loved the latter like I did. However, there is a difference in the mood between the two. Botchan (which is the name of the main protagonist of this story) feels much hardened and rough compared to Caulfield. They share a same exterior sense of hardness and cynicism regarding one's fellow humans, while preserving a tenderness that is precious and relatable. (In all faithfulness, I don't remember Caulfield's portraiture in exactness and I don't want to refresh it with an external view; nor do I want to taint the precious first impression it had on me.) Botchan's development shows how his early and insignificant life has toughened his world views. His almost deadpan narration of how unloved he felt by his own family evokes pity. The fact that he only felt really cared for by his housekeeper Kiyo deserves our sympathy. This also plays an important recurring aspect of his humanizing sustenance when he reveals more memories about his time with Kiyo. But through all this harshness, we see that Botchan is a good man at heart. That's because we quickly realize how idealistic he is. He upholds high standards of living, particularly with how humans should behave with each other, big or small. And Botchan is not too old as well - consider the fact that the story focuses on his getting job as a teacher, just after graduating, and accepts an assignment in a remote, unfamiliar territory, beyond the comforts of his used-to life, just out of whim and lack of any special preference. Therefore, his inexperience and passion to champion those ideals, vocally and strongly, only foretells disappointment in store for him. Combine this idealism with youthful energy, high expectations and a catalytic teenage angst, and you see Botchan ready to burst into conflict and action at every opportunity possible. As he constantly encounters non-idealistic townsfolk, his criticism and contempt for them only increases his bitterness and rebellious nature. While Botchan's aggression and conflicting nature makes him look arrogant and with fewer friends than even your average introvert person, you as a reader resonate with that pure spirit that either was once alive in you or protectively preserved in you - a spirit full of hope, goodness and a power to change. Botchan's narration reveals contradiction at places. We see self-deprecation in his narration; some may argue it as humility or plain honesty. He does not expect much from himself. He considers himself unexceptional and lacks ambition. However, his courage and confidence in what he is ready to fight for shows some belief in his capability to change. Other explanation could be that he has nothing to lose except his ideals. So, his all-out attitude could be desperation. Similarly, branching from contradiction, there is a contrast of tenderness in Botchan that one feels for as mentioned before. Botchan, like Salinger's Caulfield, hates two-faced nature and cowardice of any sort. Because of that, he is highly appreciative of and actively seeks honest people, who of course, are a rare qualification according to him. This is also endearing and empathizing about him. He constantly misses the humility of his past housekeeper, Kiyo, amidst the dishonesty of the hostile people whom he keeps encountering. We cheer for him when he finds a fellow colleague who he deems respect-worthy. Time has not becalmed his youthful fires within and smoothened his harsh exteriors without, yet. He is constantly on guard and ready to fight or rebel if needed. During other more sombre moods, he is ready to flee at a moment's notice. He appears defeatist despite his defiance. His pride and refuge of his Tokyo memories are his only respite from his loneliness and unhappiness. I loved Botchan as a character because he makes you feel youthful in all the right and wrong ways.
yeshi's review against another edition
3.0
it's a little lite and quick book- a japanese classic - and has similar feels as 'catcher in the rye'. slightly funny and slightly sweet here and there.