A gorgeous Clothbound Classics edition of Soseki's cherished novel, with an introduction by Haruki Murakami A Penguin Classic Soseki's work of gentle humor and doomed innocence depicts twenty-three-year-old Sanshiro, a recent graduate from a provincial college, as he begins university life in the big city of Tokyo. Baffled and excited by the traffic, the academics and — most of all — the women, Sanshiro must find his way amongst the sophisticates who fill his new life. An incisive social and cultural commentary , Sanshiro is also a subtle study of first love, tradition, modernization, and the idealism of youth against the cynicism of middle age. This is a Clothbound Classics edition of Soseki's beloved novel, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality, colorful and tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Masterfully translated by Jay Rubin, this edition also includes an introduction by Haruki Murakami. Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), one of Japan's most influential modern writers, is widely considered the foremost novelist of the Meiji era (1868-1914) and a master of psychological fiction. As well as his works of fiction, his essays, haiku, and kanshi have been influential and are popular even today. Jay Rubin (translator) is an American translator and academic. He is the translator of several of Haruki Murakami's major works. Haruki Murakami (introducer) is one of Japan's most admired and widely read novelists, whose work has been translated into more than fifty languages. His more than twenty books include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and Killing Commendatore. Born in Kyoto in 1949, Murakami now lives near Tokyo.