Unknown Masterpieces: An NYRB Classics Book Club
Since 1999, NYRB Classics has published an eclectic mix of hundreds of books, all of them linked by a sense of discovery and surprise. These are works of fiction and nonfiction often encountered outside of a classroom and outside of any established canon—literature high, low, unsuspected, and unheard of. On the second Thursday of each month, join the New York Review Books staff to discuss a book from the NYRB Classics series. We'll read everything from well-loved favorites to lesser-known gems, from the earliest entries in the series to the newest arrivals. This month we'll discuss Natsume Sōseki's melancholy tale, shot through with glimmers of joy, beauty, and gentle wit, The Gate, translated by William F. Sibley. “I especially remember the strong sense of identification I felt with The Gate, the story of a young married couple living in far-from-ideal circumstances.” —Haruki Murakami “An empathetic portrayal of character dovetailing with Nietzschean and Zen thought…[Soseki] never stopped being a hard-boiled intellectual with a mercilessly ironic vision — and he never stayed still.” —Damian Flanagan, The Japan Times A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of Tokyo. Resigned, following years of exile and misfortune, to the bitter consequences of having married without their families’ consent, and unable to have children of their own, Sōsuke and Oyone find the delicate equilibrium of their household upset by a new obligation to meet the educational expenses of Sōsuke’s brash younger brother. While an unlikely new friendship appears to offer a way out of this bind, it also soon threatens to dredge up a past that could once again force them to flee the capital. Desperate and torn, Sōsuke finally resolves to travel to a remote Zen mountain monastery to see if perhaps there, through meditation, he can find a way out of his predicament. This moving and deceptively simple story, a melancholy tale shot through with glimmers of joy, beauty, and gentle wit, is an understated masterpiece by one of Japan’s greatest writers. At the end of his life, Natsume Sōseki declared The Gate, originally published in 1910, to be his favorite among all his novels. This new translation captures the oblique grace of the original while correcting numerous errors and omissions that marred the first English version. Contact Genay, at bookclubs@mcnallyjackson.com with any questions.
