In japanese language "botchan" is the loving form that the familiars used to talk to the male children of the house. But outside of that homely environment, it also means spoiled child or inmature.
The protagonist of the Botchan´s novel, of Natsume Soseki (Impedimenta Editorial, Madrid,2008, trad of Jose Pazó Espinosa) is effectively, a spoiled child, not precisely for his family which detest him, but is more by the house maid, who show him a image of himself not accordant with the reality.
Published by first time in a japanese magazine in 1906, Botchan, in spite of its homeliness, is all in all a classic of the modern japanese literature, considered in that country one of the top works as humoristic novel is related.
Is very bizarre relate of diverse realities of that time in Japan. In one hand, the protagonist, a young from Tokio, without profession nor benefit, who decide to spent the remain amount of the family heritage in his educacion as Mathematic´s teacher. On the other hand, a suburbs city, where he gets a job as a professor, where everybody will be watching him even in the more simple and domestic tasks and they use against him as soon as they get the chance.
The protagonist live in his own life, thanks to his Tokio´s prepotency ( fun references about the provincials, the lands outside the civilization...), the confrontation between the capital style of live and the provinces city, very far from Tokio. It would also be victim, by his impulsivity, from the arbitrariness of the local educative mafia, who make and break at will in the institute where he give his lessons.
It is a very fun and delirant novel, even when I´m afraid that, without knowledge about the japanese culture, at less by my words, we don´t catch part of that humor. The paper footer notes of the traduction are very opportune in this aspect.
Actually, the japanese novel has a good fame and it´s easy look in our libraries work from diverses actual authors. So, it can be said that Natsume Soseki is the father of that modern novel which is extended to our days. Great reader of the occidental realism and naturalism of the XIX century, break with the traditional forms of writting in his country. The author made in Botchan a possible, autobiographical review, due to the fact that he has to teaching lessons in a faraway island from Tokio, in which, according to his friends, it was more a exile than a job.