Novelist Natsume Soseki is the influential figure behind such Japanese classics as ¡°Kokoro,¡± ¡°Botchan¡± and ¡°I Am a Cat,¡± and a recent study of his literary and theoretical works feels fresh and timely as a reflection of not only the author¡¯s time but our own.
In ¡°A Fictional Commons: Natsume Soseki and the Properties of Modern Literature,¡± scholar Michael Bourdaghs traces how Soseki (1867-1916) reconfigures the idea of humanity¡¯s ¡°commons¡± ¡ª how we divide up our common land and resources as a community. Bourdaghs argues that Soseki imagines, both in his fiction and his literary theory, a different kind of economy and a different way of sharing and belonging within a society as an alternative to what was becoming the economic norm ¡ª capitalism.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.