Fiction

How Do You Live?

How Do You Live?

  • Downloads：4232
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-09 14:51:12
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Genzaburo Yoshino
  • ISBN：1846046459
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Summary

Publishing in English for the very first time， Japan's beloved coming of age classic on what really matters in life

The streets of Tokyo swarm below fifteen year-old Copper as he gazes out into the city of his childhood。 Struck by the thought of the infinite people whose lives play out alongside his own， he begins to wonder， how do you live？

Considering life's biggest questions for the first time， Copper turns to his dear uncle for heart-warming wisdom。 As the old man guides the boy on a journey of philosophical discovery， a timeless tale unfolds， offering a poignant reflection on what it means to be human。

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Reviews

Bagus ，

“How do you live？”， aside from the book’s title， is also the question asked by the narrator at the end of the story。 This book might be a hidden gem in Japanese literature， that it has only been recently translated into English by Bruno Navasky。 First published in 1937， the book itself is the voice of a generation living under Imperial Japan which grew increasingly militaristic and authoritarian。 Genzaburo Yoshino as the author himself was labelled as subversive by Tokkō — “The Thought Police” — “How do you live？”， aside from the book’s title， is also the question asked by the narrator at the end of the story。 This book might be a hidden gem in Japanese literature， that it has only been recently translated into English by Bruno Navasky。 First published in 1937， the book itself is the voice of a generation living under Imperial Japan which grew increasingly militaristic and authoritarian。 Genzaburo Yoshino as the author himself was labelled as subversive by Tokkō — “The Thought Police” — which was a special branch of the police that spied and arrested people with progressive ideas around Japan。 He was arrested and released after Japan already engaged in military campaigns that would lead to World War II。The story follows a 15-year old called Honda Junichi， who was nicknamed Copper （or “Koperu” if we think about the proper pronunciation of the katakana writing） and his uncle about various topics that they discussed。 At first， it seems to me that this is the story about relationships between a nephew and his uncle， or about growing up in particular。 But there is more dimension to it， which also covers the themes of art， science， language， history， politics， and philosophy to note some。 I was not sure if this book is intended for the 15-year-old audience， but surely this is the kind of book that I wish I could have read during the time I questioned my identity and my place in this universe when I was around Copper’s age。 In some ways， it's kinda like a Japanese version of Emile， or On Education， albeit with a more practical storyline。Our main character’s nickname， Copper， is in itself an attempt from Yoshino to incorporate Western thoughts and values into this book。 Honda Junichiro was described as a child with curiosities and he kept asking questions that popped up into his head to his uncle。 His uncle is kinda like a father figure in this story since Copper’s father passed away two years previously。 It makes the story unique since Copper’s uncle accommodated his nephew’s curiosity and provided some answers （and sometimes some questions too） that he could not resist nicknaming his nephew as Copper， from the shortened version of Nicolaus Copernicus — the Renaissance-era astronomer who promoted the idea of heliocentrism that the earth rotates the sun。The format of this book is rather interesting。 There is an all-know narrator， but also much of this book contains exchanges of notes between Copper and his uncle about various topics that they have learned and discussed。 Much of the ideas that they discussed originated from Western thoughts， such as the heroism of Napoleon and some socialist egalitarian view that Copper has regarding the fate of his classmate， Uragawa， who had to live in a poorer situation as the child of a tofu seller as compared to his peers。 Besides that， Yoshino also promotes the idea of interconnectedness between East and West through drawing the lines of the Gandhara Buddha statues excavated near Peshawar which were first constructed by the Greeks who migrated there during the reign of Alexander the Great。 And through that， I get why this book was banned by Imperial Japan and was only widely released after 1945。Currently， there is an ongoing production of a film adaptation by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli which is scheduled to be released in 2023。 In the film adaptation， the main character will be someone who is inspired by the original book by Yoshino。 It is quite interesting to see how Hayao Miyazaki will take the adaptation since this is said to be one of his favourite books which have influenced his career。 Apart from being Hayao Miyazaki’s favourite， I would recommend this book to everyone who struggles to grow up as a human being and need to find some solace in our increasingly segregated modern world。Thanks to NetGalley and Ebury Publishing for providing the electronic advance reading copy。 。。。more

Marcy Thomas ，

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review。I mainly wanted to read this because Miyazaki said it was his favourite children’s book， and the inspiration for his next film， which I’m sure will be amazing。 I usually like to read the source material， because he often takes inspiration but never adapts it faithfully， like he did with Howl’s Moving Castle。I can see why Miyazaki loves this book so much。 It’s a coming of she tale of a boy growing up in pre-war Japan and tr Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review。I mainly wanted to read this because Miyazaki said it was his favourite children’s book， and the inspiration for his next film， which I’m sure will be amazing。 I usually like to read the source material， because he often takes inspiration but never adapts it faithfully， like he did with Howl’s Moving Castle。I can see why Miyazaki loves this book so much。 It’s a coming of she tale of a boy growing up in pre-war Japan and trying to make sense of the world。 I really liked Copper and his group of friends， the lessons he learns， and the beautiful writing that is deep and thought provoking。 The uncle’s letters of advice is a creative and grounded way of bringing philosophy and science to the discussion， but it’s definitely Copper’s story of finding hi place in the world。But after awhile it gets tiring。 My favourite parts are the ones centred on Copper， but the narrative takes so many detours that it’s a struggle to stay focused。 I liked some of the history and science woven in， but it goes on for ages and I lose interest。 Yes， the writing is beautiful， but I’m always sceptical with translated works because so many liberties are taken when adapting a language into another， no matter how faithful the translator tries to be。I would recommend this， as the film is being made， but it is a heavy read at times。 。。。more

Violet ，

'How Do You Live？' is a Japanese children's classic， but this just did not work for me。 I found some passages really lovely and interesting - the story of Uragawa， the school's poorest pupil， whose parents have a tofu business， who becomes friends with the hero Copper for example - that was sweet。 But most of the novel was incredibly boring - alternating between episodes between Copper - the hero - and his friends at school， Copper speaking to his wise uncle， Copper writing to his wise uncle， th 'How Do You Live？' is a Japanese children's classic， but this just did not work for me。 I found some passages really lovely and interesting - the story of Uragawa， the school's poorest pupil， whose parents have a tofu business， who becomes friends with the hero Copper for example - that was sweet。 But most of the novel was incredibly boring - alternating between episodes between Copper - the hero - and his friends at school， Copper speaking to his wise uncle， Copper writing to his wise uncle， the wise uncle's letters to Copper， the wise uncle's notebook。。。 The philosophy aspect was pretty poor as well - do not expect an overview， "Sophie's World" style （which incidentally I also find incredibly boring and inaccurate）， but rather ramblings about various topics （tofu， Napoleon， Copernic。。。） and "life lessons" - treat the poor with kindness， they have a purpose， such as building things you enjoy using; and also be brave， like Napoleon， "a hero worthy of the name"; and also don't you find it heartwarming that everything is connected - for example the powdered milk you drink in Japan comes from Australia， and so many people have been involved in making it and shipping it， like some sort of solidarity network？ （It's called capitalism。。。）Enough already。 I am sure the upcoming film made by Miyazaki will be delightful， but I would not bother with the book - and do not get me started on the clumsy translation。Free ARC from Netgalley。 。。。more

Iza Brekilien ，

Review coming up soon

Snezana ，

After learning that this was a Japanese coming of age classic， with the included foreword by Neil Gaiman， I knew I must have it。 We follow the 15-year-old Copper while he thinks， experiences， and discovers all of the nuances of this world。 But we do this through his observations， as we're crouching in one corner of his mind watching it all unfold like a motion picture。 We go back and forth between his real-life experiences at school， with his friends， and his Uncle's notes， where he carefully an After learning that this was a Japanese coming of age classic， with the included foreword by Neil Gaiman， I knew I must have it。 We follow the 15-year-old Copper while he thinks， experiences， and discovers all of the nuances of this world。 But we do this through his observations， as we're crouching in one corner of his mind watching it all unfold like a motion picture。 We go back and forth between his real-life experiences at school， with his friends， and his Uncle's notes， where he carefully and in detail poses explains the ways of the world to Copper and poses some very deep questions。 Copper has a wild imagination and a pure heart。 I love how he thinks about people， animals， things， the world around him。 We really explore the depths of Copper's mind and watch as the wheels keep turning。 We watch Copper arrive to amazing， revolutionary conclusions about his life through some amazing visuals and metaphors。The book is simply about life - people， things， concepts。 How we become who we want to be， how we experience and feel， and why we do so， how we are all interconnected with the world and each other。 It was a very interesting read， tho I have to say I found myself wanting to skim some chapters。 It's a very short-paced book， on the shorter side （everything below 300 is on the shorter side for me）， so it's really easy to get through it in one sitting。Overall， I think it's a lovely， but the strange book， that I won't be giving 5 stars to， simply because it didn't affect me in a way five-star books usually do。 。。。more

MR A J GILES ，

This is a beautiful book that I read so quickly， I loved the layout of the childhood of Copper and then his Uncle passing down learning and wisdom。 There are so many thoughts and lessons to take from this book。 A real treasure to share with your children， brothers and sisters and so on。#GenzaburoYoshino focuses on the most poiniant life lessons for early teens or young adults as well as bigger questions about self and what it means to be successful。I would recommend this book to anyone wanting t This is a beautiful book that I read so quickly， I loved the layout of the childhood of Copper and then his Uncle passing down learning and wisdom。 There are so many thoughts and lessons to take from this book。 A real treasure to share with your children， brothers and sisters and so on。#GenzaburoYoshino focuses on the most poiniant life lessons for early teens or young adults as well as bigger questions about self and what it means to be successful。I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to think and learn and certainly order it to read alongside a younger person to share that， wisdom。I am so happy this has been translated and I have been able to read it， thank you #netgalley 。。。more

Tony S ，

Let me start by saying that I was not sure about this book at first but I am so glad I stuck with it。 The book is superb it covers so many areas from religion， philosophy， economics， politics and overall friendship。 It has taken a while to get translated and published in the UK but it is a must read。 It was good to read the history of the book as it gives some detail on why it was written and the context which was also really interesting。This is a superb book and one that will stay with me for a Let me start by saying that I was not sure about this book at first but I am so glad I stuck with it。 The book is superb it covers so many areas from religion， philosophy， economics， politics and overall friendship。 It has taken a while to get translated and published in the UK but it is a must read。 It was good to read the history of the book as it gives some detail on why it was written and the context which was also really interesting。This is a superb book and one that will stay with me for a long time especially the snowball fight and all that goes on around that story。 。。。more

Ryn Baginski ，

**review based on an ARCThis book is pretty cool but I thought the translation was a bit awkward at times and made the descriptions less impactful。 The random detours into random histories （of Napoleon or Buddha statues） were really interesting but also， as I already noted twice， super random。 There’s not much of a plot because this book is mostly a philosophy book for kids， but that wasn’t too bad， I just think a very small audience of middle grade readers will actually enjoy it。 I read this cu **review based on an ARCThis book is pretty cool but I thought the translation was a bit awkward at times and made the descriptions less impactful。 The random detours into random histories （of Napoleon or Buddha statues） were really interesting but also， as I already noted twice， super random。 There’s not much of a plot because this book is mostly a philosophy book for kids， but that wasn’t too bad， I just think a very small audience of middle grade readers will actually enjoy it。 I read this cuz Hayao Miyazaki said it was one of his fave childhood books and might base a movie on it。 It didn’t meet my expectations based on that rec， BUT this is a special and intriguing book and I just wish it had a smoother translation。 。。。more

jasmine ，

DNF。 I read the Mandarin ver。 （你想活出怎样的人生？）， the English ver。 is expected to publish in 2021。How Do You Live？ is one of Hayao Miyazaki's （宫崎骏） favourite books and the animated film is in the making。 It's also one of the important texts used in Japanese education。 The story is about a young boy going through his primary school years and learns about simple things in life。 In between chapters， there are letters that his uncle wrote for him about lessons in life。 Fans of Totto-chan and The Little Pr DNF。 I read the Mandarin ver。 （你想活出怎样的人生？）， the English ver。 is expected to publish in 2021。How Do You Live？ is one of Hayao Miyazaki's （宫崎骏） favourite books and the animated film is in the making。 It's also one of the important texts used in Japanese education。 The story is about a young boy going through his primary school years and learns about simple things in life。 In between chapters， there are letters that his uncle wrote for him about lessons in life。 Fans of Totto-chan and The Little Prince will love it。 Slow-paced and heartwarming。 Personally， I'm not a huge fan of middle-grade and I found the story is too similar to Totto-chan。 。。。more

Hellen ，

this book is a very interesting book

YHC ，

如果人一直坚信地球是宇宙的中心，恐怕就无法了解宇宙真正的样貌，同样地，总是以自我为中心判断事物，也会让人不了解周遭事物的真相。最重要的是，从自己真正的感受、真切的感动出发，思考其中的涵义。当你心有所感、有什么想法从内心深处涌现时，千万不能有一丝敷衍。一定要想清楚，自己在什么情况下、对什么事情、有什么感觉。这样一来，你就会慢慢明白，自己在某个时间、某个地方受到感动，这种无法重复的唯一经验，其实具有不限于那个时刻的意义。重要的不是世俗的眼光或其他，而是你自己必须从灵魂深处了解人到底是什么地方了不起。然后，必须激发自己的向上心，打从心底想成为了不起的人。好事就是好事，坏事就是坏事，逐一判断好坏的时候，以及做你判断的好事的时候，都得贯彻从你胸中涌现的热切的情感。我并不是要模仿北见的口头禅，不过你必须有“不管谁怎么说”的决心。“月亮不会掉下来。——这是因为地球拉着月亮的力和月球转动时要往外飞的力正好互相平衡。对了，天体和天体之间有引力的想法，并不是牛顿最早提出的。早在克卜勒的时代，就已经认为星星和太阳之间有引力，所以星星会绕着一定的轨道转动像个男子汉一样承认自己的过错并因此感到痛苦，这正是天地之 如果人一直坚信地球是宇宙的中心，恐怕就无法了解宇宙真正的样貌，同样地，总是以自我为中心判断事物，也会让人不了解周遭事物的真相。最重要的是，从自己真正的感受、真切的感动出发，思考其中的涵义。当你心有所感、有什么想法从内心深处涌现时，千万不能有一丝敷衍。一定要想清楚，自己在什么情况下、对什么事情、有什么感觉。这样一来，你就会慢慢明白，自己在某个时间、某个地方受到感动，这种无法重复的唯一经验，其实具有不限于那个时刻的意义。重要的不是世俗的眼光或其他，而是你自己必须从灵魂深处了解人到底是什么地方了不起。然后，必须激发自己的向上心，打从心底想成为了不起的人。好事就是好事，坏事就是坏事，逐一判断好坏的时候，以及做你判断的好事的时候，都得贯彻从你胸中涌现的热切的情感。我并不是要模仿北见的口头禅，不过你必须有“不管谁怎么说”的决心。“月亮不会掉下来。——这是因为地球拉着月亮的力和月球转动时要往外飞的力正好互相平衡。对了，天体和天体之间有引力的想法，并不是牛顿最早提出的。早在克卜勒的时代，就已经认为星星和太阳之间有引力，所以星星会绕着一定的轨道转动像个男子汉一样承认自己的过错并因此感到痛苦，这正是天地之间唯有人才做得到的事。人本来应该有能力分辨对错，并且根据对错决定自己的行为。如果没有这样的能力，即使反省自己的行为并后悔自己犯的错，也没有意义。我们会受到悔恨折磨，是因为自己觉得——当初明明可以采取不同的行动，自己明明有能力不犯错。如果自己原本并没有能力按照正确理性的声音决定自己的行为，事后也不会尝到侮恨的苦果。承认自己的过错的确令人痛苦。可是，人之所以伟大，正因为我们会为了犯错而感到痛苦。“除了被篡位的国王之外，有谁会因为不是国王而感到不幸？”有能力遵循正确的道义行动，才会为自己的过错流下痛苦的眼泪。只要是人，都会犯错。只要良心尚未麻痺，犯错的自觉必定会让我们尝到痛苦的滋味。可是，小哥白尼，我们都该从痛苦当中汲取新的自信——因为我们有能力顺从正确的道路前行，才会尝到犯错的痛苦。“错误相对于真理的关系，正如睡眠相对于清醒。我曾经见过人从错误中醒来，就像苏醒之后再次朝着真理前进。”歌德曾经如是说。我们有决定自己言行的能力。所以我们会犯错。然而——我们有决定自己言行的能力。所以我们也能从错误重新站起来。正因为如此，小哥白尼，你所说的“人类分子”的行动，才和其他物质分子不同。/。。。。。。。 。。。more

Sam Li ，

用幾個中學生的生活小事帶出道理。所述道理並非老生常談，而是獨特卻又宏大、由生活細節帶出的法則。我本以為這本書是使人認識自我，但其實是使人認清生命的意義之宏大，令人不由得想活出有價值的人生。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How Do You Live?

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How Do You Live?&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How Do You Live?&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0