Botchan

New in Penguin Japanese Classics - Japan's favourite novel about growing up and finding yourself.

Introducing Penguin Japanese Classics - a collection of some of Japan's most celebrated and ground-breaking 20th-century writers, with covers inspired by Japanese art and design. Taking us from a sun-drenched affair in a seaside town to an underground 'ark' full of shadows and eccentrics, with stops at mountains of skulls, lonely apartments, and boarding school dormitories, this series is perfect for new and long-time readers of Japanese literature.

Botchan is a modern young man from the Tokyo metropolis, sent to the ultra-traditional Matsuyama district as a Maths teacher after the death of his parents. Cynical, rebellious, and immature, Botchan finds himself facing several tests, from the pupils, the staff, and from his own as-yet-unformed nature, as he finds his place in the world. Beloved by readers in Japan, Botchan is as funny, poignant, and memorable as it was when first published.

'Full of appealing characters... vividly portrayed and unique' - Harumi Murakami

Translated by J. Cohn