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The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto
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$14.95
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$10.17
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Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 952.1864048
EAN: 9780679738343
ISBN: 0679738347
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 1992-10-27
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: 1992-10-27
Studio: Vintage
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Editorial Reviews:
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When Pico Iyer decided to go to Kyoto and live in a monastery, he did so to learn about Zen Buddhism from the inside, to get to know Kyoto, one of the loveliest old cities in the world, and to find out something about Japanese culture today -- not the world of businessmen and production lines, but the traditional world of changing seasons and the silence of temples, of the images woven through literature, of the lunar Japan that still lives on behind the rising sun of geopolitical power. All this he did. And then he met Sachiko. Vivacious, attractive, thoroughly educated, speaking English enthusiastically if eccentrically, the wife of a Japanese "salaryman" who seldom left the office before 10 P.M., Sachiko was as conversant with tea ceremony and classical Japanese literature as with rock music, Goethe, and Vivaldi. With the lightness of touch that made Video Night in Kathmandu so captivating, Pico Iyer fashions from their relationship a marvelously ironic yet heartfelt book that is at once a portrait of cross-cultural infatuation -- and misunderstanding -- and a delightfully fresh way of seeing both the old Japan and the very new. "[Iyer] is a sharp-eyed and thoughtful observer, and he is successful in evoking the life of Kyoto's malls, temples, and back streets, moonlit nights on the water, and the vulgarity of the Westernized nightclub and amusement quarter." -- New Yorker "Pico Iyers remarkable talent is enough justification for going anywhere in the world he fancies." -- Washington Post Book World
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Articulate Observer
Comment: Pico Iyer goes to Japan intending to sample the legendary discipline of Zen Buddhism, but instead finds himself swept up in life there, and especially in Sachiko, a Japanese woman who dreams of a freedom her society is not prepared to offer.
In one sense, the conflict of the book is in Iyer's changing notions about Japan; on arriving (not speaking the language and knowing almost nothing about Kyoto proper), he is somewhat chagrined to find out it's not the Heian Era anymore. As time goes on, he begins not only to come to grips with this, but to appreciate the ups and downs of modern life in the country.
Even so, he does have certain lenses through which he insists on viewing his experience. The book's title announces his favorite theme, that of the woman at the temple gate who leads the monk astray; or, more broadly, the enduring tension between the sacred and the profane. This, combined with his love of Japanese poetry, causes him to read a literary quality into almost everything. (Maybe it is Kyoto itself that does this to him; I wonder how different his experience might have been had he gone to, say, Tokyo.) His musings in this vein are never quite disingenuous, but they sometimes wander into the starry-eyed.
The book, though, is less the story of Japan than of Sachiko, which Iyer (characteristically) takes as a type of the stories of many Japanese women, yearning to have "little bird feeling" (as Sachiko puts it) and fly away from their restrictive lives. Unfortunately, this is where Iyer mostly indulges his own ideas about the Japanese, rather than actually interacting with them. (Most of his "characters" seem to be bohemian ex-pats rather than Japanese people.)
Whatever the value of his lay sociology, his relationship with Sachiko teaches the incorrigibly analytical Iyer to start thinking with his heart, even as he teaches Sachiko to grasp the dreams she has denied herself for so long. And in the midst of it he manages to evoke, if not Japan, then the longing we all have for the unknown as well as the familiar, the jolt when we discover that what we always thought we wanted might have been what we had all along.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful but aggravating
Comment: There is no doubt that Pico Iyer is a masterful writer: his descriptions of Kyoto and Japan are breathtakingly gorgeous. He does have a tendency to ramble at times, but the passages that are good are worth slogging through the ones that drag.
However, there are parts of this book that do not seem plausible. Never once does he get frustrated by the language barrier or long for a cheeseburger. (I lived in Japan for three years and can attest its only natural to feel homesick or lonely.) He spends his year in Japan in perfect harmony with everything around him, has no troubles with the shabby guesthouse he lives in or the woman that (he admits) uses him to fulfill her warped idea of romance. He is guilty of his own criticism of how the Japanese seem so innocent, so willing to look at the bright side all of the time.
Furthermore his relationship with "Sachiko" seems almost unbelievable. (PS - why does he even bother to change the name when he dedicated the book to Hiroko on the first page?) How does this Eton, Oxford, and Harvard-educated world traveller (who loves dropping names about all the great authors he reads) manage to fall in love with a woman who hardly speaks his language and who's never been outside of Kyoto? He goes on and on about all the deep conversations they had, when really I don't see how it's possible. He paints Sachiko like the kind of girl people go to Japan for all the time: always agreeing, never arguing, always dressing up and buying presents. He looks down on all the guys who come to Japan to find a girl and yet never admits he did the same thing. Furthermore, their relationship is so painfully selfish and childish that I can't help but hate the guy at times; he talks about his "great" romance but never discusses the subsequent divorce, financial difficulty, toll on the children, etc. As far as I remember, he only played with the kids a handful of times, instead stealing away with his "lady" at all hours of the night. I'm asking myself the whole time I read this book, "Who's watching the children?!" I'm sure these two love each other and all (as they are still living together. Are they married?) but I just think his recollection of their relationship is a bit too melodramatic, too "magical" to be believed. It's too innocent, too, by Iyer's definition, "Japanese".
As a work of fiction this book is stunning, but as a memoir, I feel it's a bit too farfetched. But regardless his prose really is a work of art.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Neither enlightening nor entertaining
Comment: This book is neither hot or cold, just insipid ... it's not really about Japan and not really about Zen Buddhism either. A more apt title would be "Quiet Desperation in Japan" - Iyer flirts with Zen and does not achieve any insight, and his imagined romance with Sachiko lacks fire and ultimately unconvincing.
I'd recommend the following books that are much superior:
- For Japanese Zen Buddhism, read Peter Matthiessen's extraordinary "Snow Leopard" and "Nine-headed Dragon River".
- For a well-written and absolutely hilarious recount of an expat's experience in Japan, read "Japanland" by Karin Muller.
- For a very well written book on Japanese culture and economy, read "Outnation" by Jonathan Rauch.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent, but a little repatative
Comment: First let me just say i liked the book and could almost give it 4 stars. The reasons i decided to only give it 3 was the way it was written and the length.
I feel Pico could have covered what he did in about 30-60 pages less if not more. The story mainly focuses on the way Japanese society is with it's reservations and freeness. Pico quotes old poems and he obviously wants to believe japan embodies these poems, but he finds that japan is more complex than he thought. The main relationship(a somewhat romantic one) is with Sachiko a 30 year-old mother of two, but she is more of a medium to express how japan is. It's somewhat hard to understand what I'm saying unless you've read the book. Some past readers have accused Pico of thinking he knows the Japanese, while this is somewhat true i believe he more presents his opinions for your to analyze.
And for the way the book is written it's a bit jumbled. I think this book is better describe as pages of his thoughts and experiences throughout his time in japan, it's not a travel book. I think there are only a select amount of people who would feel satisfied with this both, or at least appreciate it.
If you can find it at a library pick it up and give it a quick read and if you like it go ahead and buy it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Vivid ...
Comment: In my opinion, Pico Iyer seems to be a very moody writer. He usually writes well, but then there are moments when he comes into his own and writes with an amazing surreal quality. The transition from good to surreal is very smooth: It is like being transported to another (sometimes surreal, but very vivid) realm and you'll lose count of the time. I was particularly impressed by his prose wherein he describes his late night walks amidst all the floating lanterns.
Pico has an uncanny knack of doing accurate and exhaustive research about the place and cultures he visits. Japan is an intriguing place that is steeped in three religions, immense & immaculate aesthetics, humbling hospitality, spellbinding natural scenery and Zen. Pico's interpretation of Zen is very interesting (though not very complete) and will give you opportunities of reflection, contemplation and fulfillment: In effect, living in the moment, which is quintessential Zen.
There are some parts that Pico could have done without. These are:
1. Description of his visits to Kyoto's high-end and nouveau bars. In these chapters, he squanders his high-prose to a reporter's anecdotal write-up.
2. The hallmark of this book is his interaction and lovely relationship with Sachiko San. However, at time he has made some give-take remarks about Sachiko San (in my opinion). This in some ways taints the beautiful relationship between Pico & Sachiko.
Nevertheless, this is a very good read. I would highly recommend it.
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