Botchan

A Comic Japanese Novel. 'One may be branded foolishly honest if he takes seriously the apologies others might offer. We should regard all apologies a sham, and forgiving also as a sham; then everything would be all right. If one wants to make another apologize from his heart, he has to pound him good and strong until he begs for mercy from his heart.' Botchan is a classic Japanese coming of age novel about a young man who is sent from Tokyo to the countryside to teach mathematics at a middle school.