Gaku Stories (がくものがたり Gakumonogatari), also published under the title My Boy: A Father's Memories, is an I Novel by Japanese author Makoto Shiina.

The novel is composed of nine sections: "Fragrant Olive", "Swallowtail Butterfly", "Indian Trumpet", "Dandelion", "Operation Mackerel Scad", "The Eagle and the Pig", "Thirty Years", "Goby Fishing", and "The Two Day Present".

Gaku's upbringing took place during a significant period of transition in both the author's work and his family life, as Shiina stumbled into writing from a career as a salaryman.

Composed of eleven sections: "It's a Bright Spring", "The Boy's Month of May", "Operation Eavesdropping", "The Story of Gaku", "The Mystery of Yokochin", "The Champion Belt", "A Camellia In Winter", "A Spooky Wave", "Bones and Setsubun", "The Scent of Darkness", and "Departure".

[14] The stories dealing with Gaku primarily focus on the events that took place during his later years of elementary school, depicting his rebellious days and his struggles to assert his independence from his father and find his feet as a young man.

[15] And the story closes with "Departure", a chapter which depicts the gyōza party thrown for Gaku to celebrate his entry into lower secondary school, as well as the day of his welcome ceremony.

From his kindergarten days, Gaku displays a great sense of curiosity, which often gets him into trouble, as he uproots the neighbours' sweet potatoes with some friends and engages in other mischief.

Gaku enjoys a liberal upbringing, and becomes so popular that during Valentine's Day in his fourth year of school, he receives chocolates from three separate classmates.

On the other hand, he enjoys much less success in his studies, picking fights with older students, and becoming a wild problem child who draws the ire of his teachers, leading his parents to be frequently called to the school.

The narrator, who was away from home the previous New Year due to research for his writing, makes time in his schedule, and plans an overnight fishing trip to Inatori in Higashiizu for Gaku.

He also uses tools his father has never seen before to skilfully catch a sea ruffe, leading the author to realise that his son is pushing into a world he has no knowledge of.

The play wrestling that takes place in the parlour of the Shiina household each night, too, has become so fierce that it's no longer a game, and Gaku has developed to the point where he's able to throw his father with judo techniques.

After a brave battle against the illness, Toshio Hoshimi, who served as the leader for the narrator's expedition across Siberia, succumbs to his cancer, and passes away.

He also has to deal with the rumours of murder that surround the disappearance of his high school friend Kishino, a former boxer who participated in the Tokyo Olympics, as well as his mother in law's stroke.

Just before Gaku starts lower high school, the narrator invites Mr. Noda and various other friends to the house and throws a gyōza party for his son.

With this, the sweet-natured days of Gaku's boyhood with his father come to an end, and the narrator feels as if his son has begun to take the first steps into his own world.