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The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto Audiobook
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(3.04) - 673 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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.
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"A lucky find at Moe's books in Berkeley! Gauzy wistful travel memoir about a gaijin and a Japanese housewife who become friends in Kyoto while their lives are in transition. I found myself loving the two characters who are caught together in limbo, and internalizing Sachiko's phrasing ("when I little children size") enough to miss it now it has gone. Iyer's Kyoto is a sensory delight and that kept me reading in spite of the amateurish sociological insights he sprinkles throughout, marring what would otherwise be lovely bits of description about teahouses, schoolchildren, seasonal foods and so on."
— Jessica (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[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 -
“With his light touch for travel writing, Iyer selectively weaves the plaintive love poems and stories of Buddhist priests into his narrative. His sensitive treatment is recommended for most travel collections.”
— Library Journal -
“A personal and evocative work filled with much gentle humor, intelligence and insight.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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New York Times Notable Book
The Lady and the Monk Listener Reviews
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" A beautiful love story that also captures the fulfillment of a life lived with focus and spirituality. "
— Kathleen, 2/13/2014 -
" I had pretty high expectations going into this, because I've really liked everything else I've read by Iyer and because it's widely recommended. But it's only alright. It's hard to take his fascination with Zen seriously, for instance. "
— Zedder, 2/7/2014 -
" The book that made me want to go to kyoto "
— Dennis, 1/25/2014 -
" I read about 40 pages. There were quite many descriptions and nothing special going on to keep me interested enough to continue reading. "
— Bo, 1/13/2014 -
" Many interesting insights into Japan... loved the bits about "monoganashii," loosely translated as, "feeling nostalgic for the moment." Wish we had a word for that in English! "
— Lucia, 1/11/2014 -
" If you've ever been to Kyoto, you'll love reading this book. I suggest reading it as soon as you get back from your trip--it will make your trip feel longer. "
— Courtney, 1/8/2014 -
" I love Pico Iyer, and this book is a great look at the contrasting cultures of geisha, monks, history, modern, Japanese, and foreigner taking place in the contemporary Kyoto. "
— Jason, 12/27/2013 -
" if i tell you that this book convinced me to never ever pick up another "travel" book again, would you get an idea what i thought of it? "
— Rhonda, 12/23/2013 -
" I hated this book, because I felt like the author was putting his personal fantasies on top of places I knew and loved. It literally made my skin crawl. The whole "western man rescuing a Japanese woman from a loveless marriage" theme was also distasteful. "
— Crystal, 12/21/2013 -
" I love this book--it's accessible, charming, deep, and elegant. The narrator is particularly well rendered; a delight to go along with him on this journey. "
— Debra, 12/19/2013 -
" An account of a year in Japan that's a wonderful outsider's introduction to Japanese culture, an admiring account of Kyoto, and a gentle and heartfelt love story. I've always admired Iyer's travel writing, and this is one of his most delightful works. "
— DoctorM, 11/22/2013
About Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is the acclaimed and bestselling author of more than a dozen books, translated into twenty-three languages. His journalism has appeared in Time, the New York Times, New York Review of Books, the London Financial Times, and more than 250 other periodicals worldwide. His TED talks have been viewed over eleven million times. He divides his time between Japan and a Benedictine hermitage in California.
About Geoffrey Howard
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.