Socrates in Love

by Kyōichi Katayama

Book Overview

Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo es la novela japonesa m s le da de todos los tiempos. Ha inspirado una versi n cinematogr fica, una exitosa serie televisiva y ha sido ilustrada como c mic... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421501546
• ISBN13: 9781421501543
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

An emotional rollercoaster

SOCRATES IN LOVE is a book that I seriously took for granted. I saw it advertised everywhere and figured it was probably your average romance novel. I didn't even bother to think about ordering it in to read it for myself. Then I stumbled upon a summary and it piqued my attention. I ordered it, finished it the day it arrived, and couldn't stop crying. In this short story, Matsumoto Sakutaro (otherwise known as 'Saku-chan' as Aki calls him that), an average junior highschool boy falls in love with the much more popular Hirose Aki. And for some inexplicable reason, they grow closer and closer until they're together. So infatuated with eachother, they talk about marriage and having children together, while they're not even legal adults yet. Everything seems bright and brilliant, but Aki is diagnosed with leukemia, and Sakutaro is forced to stand by and watch, his hands tied up on his back as the world reclaims the girl that he has grown to love so much. He simply cannot comprehend what it will be like to live in a world without Aki. She was born before him; he does not know a world that doesn't have Aki in it. Kyoichi Katayama easily beats a lot of authors of this time. His writing is consistently beautiful, whether it's writing out how Aki's illness is affecting both her and Sakutaro, or just simple landscapes. He has a way with words that pulls on your heartstrings and makes you open your eyes to reality. Read this book. It's the most beautiful and most realistic book that you'll ever read.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

This book was actually written in Japan and was first published in Japanese. It has only been available in English for a few months, but SOCRATES IN LOVE is the best-selling hardcover of all time in Japan. This book is like the Japanese version of The Notebook. In this story, Sakutaro, an average high school boy, falls in love with a girl named Aki. They grow into an inseparable couple and they do everything together. Aki and Sakutaro have some wild adventures, and fall into true, head-over-heels love. They plan to get married and have children together until Aki is diagnosed with leukemia. They don't know what they will do without each other when she is gone. These are the kinds of characters that you want to see succeed and be happy. I liked this book because it has such an amazing storyline and the characters are so well introduced that you feel like you know them. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about true love, whether they are male or female, as everyone can truly enjoy this book. Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

Wow...

I own this book in both the original japanese text and in english. Though there are some slight errors in translation, the book manages to keep the same feelings. I have never read a book that leaves such a lasting impression of sadness. It's a wonderful read, I highly recommend it. It is also a fast read so you can get through it on a short plane ride.

A book that tugs your heartstrings

There are a few different types of romance books. In some books, there's an initial attraction between the boy and girl but the initial attraction is all you see. This book is very different in that the inital attraction almost wasn't there in the beginning. It was more like, 'Boy sees girl- boy acknowledges girl- boy sees girl for what she really is- boy falls in love with girl'. This is the base of the whole plot for this book. The thing that I liked the most was that, while there was interaction between Aki and Sakutaro, you could also see into Saku's mind and feel what he was feeling. He didn't automatically just yell out "Aki I love you!" but instead he takes the time to contemplate everything and with Kyoichi Katayama's writing, you can clearly see and feel the conflicting emotions. Intertwined with the love story between Aki and Saku is story of how Saku lived after Aki passed away. The relationship that they had was a very special one and after she's gone it leaves him quite lost. Katayama did an amazing job of describing Saku's feelings of loss, disappointment, and anguish by using simple words and adding in long, in-depth conversations between Saku and his grandfather. These conversations make up the most touching parts of the book. All in all, this book deals with the type of relationship that everyone hopes for but not everyone find, and what happens when that amazing relationship comes abruptly to an end. The tragedy intertwined with love makes for an enduring tale. I'm so glad it was translated for us here in the US!

A Way to Look at Life

From the first chapter, even the first page, this book leaves a heavy weight of sorrow on your chest. The relationship of Saku-chan and Aki is rare, which makes the story even more heart-breaking. The background of the story is as follows: Boy gets elected to class officer. Boy meets girl, no feelings of attraction. Boy befriends girl. One day boy falls for girl, and they evolve into a caring relationship. Girl gets sick. Really sick. Boy stands by her side. (And you can read it to find out the inner details and ending. It's worth the $12.23.) Katayama has a way with words that vastly surpasses most writers of this current time period. The scene descriptions draw you in simply because you get a better sense of how the characters are feeling and what is really going on behind the words they speak. You know what happens almost as soon as you read it, but the point isn't how it ends- it is how you get there and what you do after the ending that matters.