Prose // Booklog

The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto by Pico Iyer
"...Pico Iyer... returns to Japan to spend a year in the beautiful city of Kyoto. A place of temples, monks and ancient ritual, Kyoto is somewhere to seek tranquil contemplation... But even living in a monastery, Iyer finds distractions and unsettling contradictions. ...Then he meets Sachiko... she is in her way the essence of modern Japan. Through her, Iyer's affair with... her country blossoms into a romance of a special and very different kind." - Excerpt from the back cover summary.

I've always had an interest in Japanese culture, not just because I'm an anime/gaming fan, but also for its intricate and elegant traditions. This book lets me see them through the eyes of a foreigner. While this is more of a day-in-the-life type of novel, there are some very interesting aspects on the Japanese culture such as their affinity for the moon, the innocence of the woman, and their submission to the sad emotion. Some didn't like this book very much, and it is somewhat inaccurate in places, but I enjoyed it. I assume that they were expecting a no-frills, textbook-type of overview of Kyoto, and they looked at the wrong book. Like I said, this book is more of a day-in-the-life account of the narrator and the people he meets on the way.

I read this over 6 months ago, so I can't really remember the sharper points of this book. But it is enjoyable, and I'd love to read more of Pico Iyer's works.

Genre: Travel
Side note: Pico Iyer also wrote Video Night in Kathmandu and is an essayist for Time magazine.


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