How Do You Live?
- Subject
- Social Themes - General (see also headings under Family)
- Age
- 9-12 years
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 288
- Publisher
- Algonquin Young Readers
- Size
- 13.7 cm Ă 20.8 cm
- ISBN
- 9781616209773
As featured in the Oscar-nominated Hayao Miyazaki film The Boy and the Heron: the coming-of-age novel How Do You Live? is a Japanese classic that became a New York Times bestseller.
After the death of his father, fifteen-year-old Copper must confront inevitable and enormous change, including the aftermath of his own betrayal of his best friend. Between episodes of Copperâs emerging story, letters from his uncle share knowledge and offer advice on lifeâs big questions. Like his namesake Copernicus, Copper looks to the stars and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth, and human nature to answer the question of how he will live.
First published in 1937 in Japan, GenzaburĆ Yoshinoâs How Do You Live? has long been an important book for Academy Award-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle). Perfect for readers of philosophical fiction like The Alchemist and The Little Prince, How Do You Live? serves as a thought-provoking guide for young readers as they grow up in a world both infinitely large and unimaginably small.
Data provided by BiblioShare.
What reviewers said
A New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
âAll classic childrenâs books are works of philosophy in one sense or another. But few classics for young readers are as entirely philosophical and contemplative, as engineered to instruct, as Genzaburo Yoshinoâs How Do You Live? . . . not easily forgotten. . . Some may feel, as this reader did upon closing it, inclined to affirm an unusual truth: âI am wiser for having read this book.ââ
âA heartwarming and empathetic text engineered to help kids comprehend the world around them and their places in it . . . Like the best Miyazaki films, [the] lessons are often deceptively simple, but they have implications for every person who comes of age through adversity.â
âHow Do You Live? is that rare thing, especially in YA: a shamelessly philosophical novel, starting with its interrogative title. It asks its young readers to think about the person they want to be, and its adult readers to reflect on the person theyâve become.â
âA teen ponders the complexities of life, history, and humanity in this 1937 classic from Japan being animated by Hayao Miyazaki . . . Simple and beautiful seasonal details reflect Copperâs emotional journey. Small glimpses into prewar Japanese life and culture, including tofu making, school social hierarchies, city life, and the intricacies and symbolism of words, contribute to the atmosphere . . . A childhood favorite of Miyazakiâs and one that is sure to find a select, but eager, readership outside its homeland.â
â[A] deeply thoughtful Japanese classic . . . A gentle tale of self-discovery and reflection, and a compassionate guidebook on integrity punctuated by rich sensory details . . . Yoshinoâs timeless lessons will resonate with sensitive readers young and old.â
