Customer reviews

I may have missed the boat on this one. I may have also missed something in translation.

How Do You Live? is a coming-of-age novel that seems to occupy a space in Japanese culture akin to, say, Catcher in the Rye for American readers. I picked it up because I’m a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, and I’d read that he was planning a new film based on it. (The film is due out in July 2023.)

On the plus side, How Do You Live? has an interesting structure, with long passages dedicated to letters written between the main character, Copper, and his uncle. Copper is transitioning from childhood to adolescence, and he spends a great deal of time thinking about what kind of man he will become. His letters to his uncle, and his uncle’s lengthy responses, explore what it means to be a good person and an active, beneficial member of society.

On the downside, there’s a tad too much philosophizing in these pages for my tastes. If the novel’s ethical questions were grounded in the plot—as is one instance involving Copper’s action (or inaction)—they would’ve been more concrete and relatable. But I don’t have much tolerance for abstract discussion of philosophy for its own sake. Perhaps if I’d been able to read the novel in Japanese, the writing would’ve felt more natural, but as it was, it often seemed stilted and precocious.

It’s also hard to read the book without considering the state of the world—and Japanese politics—at the time of its publication in 1937. So much of what Copper and his uncle valorize is altruism, service to others, forsaking one’s own needs for those of the community. Those same ethical imperatives fueled the nationalism that drove Japanese expansion throughout the 1920s and 1930s and that ultimately led Japan to ally with Germany and Italy in World War II. (Obviously, none of this is meant to excuse nationalism or militarism anywhere else in the world, including my home country of the U.S.)

Maybe if I’d read How Do You Live? when I were younger, I’d have loved it. But just as with Catcher in the Rye (which I didn’t come to until I was in my 30s), the central character and his philosophy turned me off. In Holden’s case, that’s because he’s an insufferable, entitled, self-centered bore, and in Copper’s case, it’s because he comes across as a philosophy machine, interested only in abstract ideas, with none of the real-life questions that teenagers typically ask.

Steven Hashimoto

Excellent Condition

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2023

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No dirt smudges, no crease, no folded pages. Awesome!

Víctor H

GRAN LIBRO

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2023

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Bien impreso, entregado con rapidez y la historia me encanto.

UnhappyLittleMan

Wonderful book, a new favorite for me.

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2023

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I read this book because of the upcoming Studio Ghibli film. Did not expect to read what would become one of my new favorite books. What a blessing to have an English translation of such a beautiful work of literature from Japan. This book masterfully pairs a story of a young boy in 1937 Tokyo with important lessons in real philosophy, history, and science. There is also a lot of Japanese vocabulary that is used and explained to the reader. This book encouraged me to think deeply about me and my own life, as well as the lives of everyone else. I feel like this book is educational, fun to read, culturally enriching, and inspirational to be a better person. 10/10

Winter Fam

Very informative book

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023

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I bought this book for my pre-teen, I read it first before I gave it to him. It is a very informative book. We read it as a family as to answer questions as they arose.

James Burnside

The young should read this for insight, and the old to remember

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2022

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I wish this book had been translated to English when I was in middle school.
I would have learned to read Japanese if I had been aware of this books existence.
It makes me wonder if I would have made decisions in my youth differently or thought more about a decision I was going to make if I had read this book and used it as a guide.
All young adults should have guides like these written from different ethnic points of view so we could see things through others eyes.

Margaret Johnston-

Heart warming book about young people and ethics

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2023

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Endearing book from 1937 Japan about the values that young people in any place or culture should develop and understand-- it is the heart that is important

Top reviews from other countries

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S_M_DEEPAK

This is a must read for everyone

Reviewed in India on May 27, 2023

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I've read the book completely and I always felt the human in me whenever I engaged with it. At times, it made my eyes wet with emotions. This book had led me to various places which has the potential to make me a whole human being. And, I'm going to gift this to my inner circles.
If you ask me, everyone should this book, especially in these times where we highly require real-humans.

A. M

A nice edition

Reviewed in Mexico on June 18, 2023

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I wish Amazon could protect the books better, cheap editions only have paper cover on them so if tha tone gets damaged you end up with a naked book, mine came a big damaged

Aside that it's a wonderful work, really comfortable to read, big font

Fox Dear

A Short Book Inspiring Us to Think

Reviewed in Japan on January 22, 2023

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I originally read this because it was going to be the next Studio Ghilbi’s next animation film.
This book make me think what it mean to be human. The book focus on a boy growing up in 1937’s Japan and his experience and how they apply to us. Each chapter are divided in two: one will describe the events of Copper (the main character) and the other is a response from his dear uncle responding to those event in encouragement of critical thinking. One chapter struck me was the concept that we are all born as expert consumers and as an adult, we have responsibility to contribute to society as producers. This made me analyze my value in society and to myself living my life.

nathan

Otima qualidade

Reviewed in Brazil on March 11, 2023

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Gostei da capa dura, boa qualidade, mas a capa em folha veio descolada e toda torta pra esquerda

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