Pico Iyer

Pico Iyer's wife is Japanese, and they've lived in Japan (in Nara) for much of the last thirty years, so he's probably better-qualified than most foreigners to be writing about the country, but he's clearly not entirely joking when he tells us that we should read "Beginner's Guide" as referring to the inexperience of the author, not the reader. Japan is not an easy place to pin down, apparently, especially not if you didn't grow up in a Japanese family and your command of the language is show more less than perfect.

Iyer therefore largely avoids subjective statements of opinion (a very Japanese approach, as he points out) and leans quite heavily on things other people — Japanese and foreign — have said about Japan. Or, occasionally, things people have said about other places that can also be read onto Japan. He arranges them cleverly to expose the many paradoxes in what "we" think we know about the Japanese, and in what the Japanese think they know about themselves, until we find ourselves nudged gently towards the conclusion that, in fact, the Japanese are just like everyone else. Only more so. There are plenty of other places in the world where people eagerly embrace new technologies whilst finding great significance in archaic traditions, or where a a strong desire for outward conformity and avoidance of any kind of individualistic display in public creates masks for people who are wildly eccentric and creative in their inner lives (England was just coming out of that mode when I was growing up, for example). But the Japanese have somehow refined all these things a degree or two beyond the rest of the world.

An enjoyable, thought-provoking book, which will probably become an essential — if useless in practice — reference for anyone visiting Japan for the first time. show less

As a frequent visitor to Kyoto, I really enjoyed this book. The authors are all people who have moved to Kyoto from elsewhere, and have spent time getting to know the city as residents. The book explores areas of the city that are on the tourist trail, but puts a personal spin on where to go and what to see. I have been to around 70% of the places covered in the walks and have discovered new things that I want to explore next time I am there. I liked the different styles of the authors and show more the way their personalities and passions came through. My enjoyment of the book is coloured by my previous experiences, but even if you have never been to Kyoto, the walks provide an introduction to the city that goes further than standard tourist texts. It's a must read for any visitor to Kyoto who wants to dig a little deeper into the city's history and its present.
Initially released as an e-book, I read it on both my Kindle 3 and on the app on my tablet computer. Both were easy to navigate, but reading on my tablet gave me access to live links to Google maps and to websites included in the end notes. The photographs and woodblock illustrations look better in colour, too.
Altogether a very thoughtful, engaging and well put together book. I'd be interested to see it as a print book, too. show less

This relatively short book has something to surprise on nearly every page. It's one of those unusual books that starts out, as so many travel books do, as merely interesting, and turns into something much deeper by the end. You could call it a collection of essays on a theme, and certainly there's no indication that the places Iyer visited were visited recently or in the order presented, although you could read the book thinking that. What we have here, in part, is a work by a man who has show more spent decades traveling and is no longer content to simply report on wonderful and unusual destinations. Instead, he's looking deeper, finding new connections between the people and cultures he's encountering and humanity at large, and especially, the connections between humanity at large and he himself. Although he never says so outright, it's clear that he's feeling the approaching shadow of mortality and is no longer content to merely marvel at the surface of things, or to find patterns only a few levels deep. Hence the subtitle of the book, "In Search of Paradise." Not only are we individuals fated to fade away, but so are our cultures. What really, beneath all the bright diversity of people and places, undergirds this vast web called humanity?

Not that this book is at all difficult to read, or that it can't be experienced as travelogue. But late in the book, when Iyer happens to mention that he has spent much time with the Dalai Lama, traveling in his company on several occasions, I wasn't as surprised as I might have been.

Nevertheless I do recommend the book to those who are not looking for something deep; that's how I discovered it. I read the opening pages about Iyer getting off the plane in Tehran and liked his voice and didn't expect anything other than a fresh perspective on overlooked or misrepresented places. The full list of places visited and discussed, in addition to Iran, are North Korea; Kashmir; Broome, in Western Australia; Jerusalem; Ladakh, on the border of India and Tibet; Sri Lanka; Gokurabashi, Japan, an ancient cemetery near Osaka; and Varanasi. Although that last section is only 24 pages long, it let me imagine the place so vividly that my "memory" of it is as strong as my memory of places I've actually visited!

Highly recommended, whether you consider yourself a spiritual person or not. show less

Of the various Best American anthologies published each year by Houghton Mifflin, I regularly read the Fiction, Sports Writing, and Travel Writing. Curiously, though, I would have to say that the Travel Writing series is the most reliable read on a year-in, year-out basis. Some years have more “heavy” stories; others concentrate more on humorous fare. Invariably, though, I emerge having learned a good deal about many parts of the world that I’ll likely never visit.

The 2004 anthology is show more as good as any. The tone is pretty balanced—there are many pieces about places in the world facing challenges, including a resort attempting to get off the ground in war-torn Kashmir; a depressing tale of the deterioration of the Ivory Coast, an erstwhile African jewel; mountain gorillas under siege by the war in the Congo; and a curious piece about a writer trying to cross the border into Burma.

For me, the best piece of all was one on Barre, Vermont of all places. The essay focuses on a local radio station and a diner that features almost nothing but food grown within 50 miles. This was a story that made me question whether I’m doing the right thing by saving a few bucks via amazon.com as opposed to pumping more money into the Brookline Booksmith. Without getting too preachy, that piece talks about what we’ve lost as a nation by having amazingly little local radio or local anything, really.

This is a highly recommended series and should be a must-read each year, even if you’re purely an armchair traveler. show less