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beardybot's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Sherman explores Tokyo and its past, loosely linking passages with the bells that once rang out over the city. It's interesting, but unsatisfying; each time we get somewhere good, we're off to the next topic.
jasondcrane's review against another edition
4.0
This lovely and thoughtful book introduced me to many new aspects of the country where I lived for three years and the city where I worked for two.
Someday I'll get back there.
Someday I'll get back there.
kingarooski's review against another edition
4.0
Anna Sherman seeks to find the bells which rang out at regular intervals for the residents of Edo/Tokyo before the arrival of western clocks and timekeeping. The city started out with three bells which told the residents when it was time to eat, sleep and work but later expanded as the city grew in size. Part travelogue, part history, this is a book for all those interested in Japan. We learn about strands of the city’s history, including the twelve-hour days (each hour named after an animal), the fall of the shogunate and old Japanese clocks. An interesting read and I really enjoyed the prose.
writersreads's review against another edition
4.5
‘It’s the Age of Mass Forgetting. We live with such a flood of news that we forget what’s real,’ Tsuchiya said. ‘In a single day, we get ten years’ worth of news. To survive, we have to forget things: we forget things we hate. We forget things we love. We forget who we are.’
This book was everything it promised it would be and so much more. I have dreamt of travelling to Japan for most of my life, and reading this was like the briefest holiday – I felt completely transported. I just wish it could have been longer, or that my own time could have slowed whilst reading.
Filled with whispers and ticks from the nooks of Tokyo – the voices of those alive today, and those frozen in time. Wise, old Daibo in his coffee shop, the brave widow left with her husband’s collection of history’s clocks … artists, business owners, even the landscape itself seemed to speak through Sherman’s writing.
‘The advantage of the old Japanese clocks was, they go off time, not that they keep it. Most people were farmers, and the sun was their clock.’ ‘Time was torn away from nature.’
The sheer amount of research (and travel!) that has gone into this book is astounding – each new location, every snippet of dialect … all so well informed and delivered effortlessly. Sherman gives you only what you need to bring the past to life. As a westerner too, it was all so new to me, yet not once did I feel swamped by information that was beyond my understanding. Sherman’s writing is true to the culture it explores, in its refinement, its economy, and its philosophical undertones. I felt in good hands throughout – ones I trusted to take mine and lead me on.
Overall, a beautiful piece of, what felt like, narrative non-fiction – filled with heart and so complete. This book is, of course, perfect for those of us with a pull towards Japanese culture, but also for those with an adoration for almost-forgotten stories and their humble tellers. I don’t believe you can truly know a place until you have been met with such tales, listened to their faint historical echoes. The Bells of Old Tokyo is a book that brings these stories up to the light, to be turned, seen, and their quiet ticking, finally, heard.
一微塵
‘Ichimijin,’ he said. ‘A single atom.’
In a single atom, there can be untold worlds.
This book was everything it promised it would be and so much more. I have dreamt of travelling to Japan for most of my life, and reading this was like the briefest holiday – I felt completely transported. I just wish it could have been longer, or that my own time could have slowed whilst reading.
Filled with whispers and ticks from the nooks of Tokyo – the voices of those alive today, and those frozen in time. Wise, old Daibo in his coffee shop, the brave widow left with her husband’s collection of history’s clocks … artists, business owners, even the landscape itself seemed to speak through Sherman’s writing.
‘The advantage of the old Japanese clocks was, they go off time, not that they keep it. Most people were farmers, and the sun was their clock.’ ‘Time was torn away from nature.’
The sheer amount of research (and travel!) that has gone into this book is astounding – each new location, every snippet of dialect … all so well informed and delivered effortlessly. Sherman gives you only what you need to bring the past to life. As a westerner too, it was all so new to me, yet not once did I feel swamped by information that was beyond my understanding. Sherman’s writing is true to the culture it explores, in its refinement, its economy, and its philosophical undertones. I felt in good hands throughout – ones I trusted to take mine and lead me on.
Overall, a beautiful piece of, what felt like, narrative non-fiction – filled with heart and so complete. This book is, of course, perfect for those of us with a pull towards Japanese culture, but also for those with an adoration for almost-forgotten stories and their humble tellers. I don’t believe you can truly know a place until you have been met with such tales, listened to their faint historical echoes. The Bells of Old Tokyo is a book that brings these stories up to the light, to be turned, seen, and their quiet ticking, finally, heard.
一微塵
‘Ichimijin,’ he said. ‘A single atom.’
In a single atom, there can be untold worlds.
charlottesteggz's review
4.0
This was a very interesting read. Like many others, I struggled at the start, but something clicked about 100 pages in and I got with the rhythm of the book.
I've studied Japanese and Japanese culture for more than half my life, and yet The Bells of Old Tokyo showed me sides to Japan I hadn't come across. A penny drop moment was the paragraph where she talks about how Japan is all about renewal - from the homes they live in that are built to last just a few decades, to Ise Shrine (and I had the pleasure of living in Ise for a few years) which is brought to the ground and rebuilt every 25 years. I was lucky enough to live there when it was last rebuilt and it was an amazing experience.
I would love to sit down for tea with Anna (I promise I won't drink any muddy black tea!) She's hard to find on social media - Anna, if you're out there, let's be friends!
I've studied Japanese and Japanese culture for more than half my life, and yet The Bells of Old Tokyo showed me sides to Japan I hadn't come across. A penny drop moment was the paragraph where she talks about how Japan is all about renewal - from the homes they live in that are built to last just a few decades, to Ise Shrine (and I had the pleasure of living in Ise for a few years) which is brought to the ground and rebuilt every 25 years. I was lucky enough to live there when it was last rebuilt and it was an amazing experience.
I would love to sit down for tea with Anna (I promise I won't drink any muddy black tea!) She's hard to find on social media - Anna, if you're out there, let's be friends!
yanailedit's review against another edition
One of those books that can be best summarised as 'Westerner engages in some cultural voyeurism and works their culture shock into bite-sized meditations that project their emotional state onto the poorly understood culture they're attempting to consume'.
The entire premise of the work is basically a morbid fascination with what the author considers mundanely grotesque (the negative) or alien (the positive). Not a lot of self-awareness about where her judgements might be coming from and absolutely no empathy for the many people who live differently than herself. Just the commodification of people as curios so they can be crammed into the book as content.
All in all, this is a book that takes stream-of-consciousness judgements of a slightly self-victimizing narrator and removes the context or any information a reader might need to be able to approach her pronouncements from a slightly more informed position. Et voilà, just add the assumption that Anglophone culture is 'neutral/normal' and you have a book for readers who enjoy a light read with a orientalist pseudo intellectual aesthetic.
Oh, and name dropping. Lots and lots of name dropping. Also remember the premise of meditations on time in a city? Yeah. The premise is 'borrowed' from ambient music artist Hiroshi Yoshimura who was fascinated with evolving soundscapes and sounds we are no longer aware of. It's loosely referenced for a few chapters and then the exploration of sound and time is promptly dropped altogether for the rest of the book. I'm feeling uncharitable and would say this was a case of light idea co-opting before realising the topic is entirely out of her wheelhouse.
The entire premise of the work is basically a morbid fascination with what the author considers mundanely grotesque (the negative) or alien (the positive). Not a lot of self-awareness about where her judgements might be coming from and absolutely no empathy for the many people who live differently than herself. Just the commodification of people as curios so they can be crammed into the book as content.
All in all, this is a book that takes stream-of-consciousness judgements of a slightly self-victimizing narrator and removes the context or any information a reader might need to be able to approach her pronouncements from a slightly more informed position. Et voilà, just add the assumption that Anglophone culture is 'neutral/normal' and you have a book for readers who enjoy a light read with a orientalist pseudo intellectual aesthetic.
Oh, and name dropping. Lots and lots of name dropping. Also remember the premise of meditations on time in a city? Yeah. The premise is 'borrowed' from ambient music artist Hiroshi Yoshimura who was fascinated with evolving soundscapes and sounds we are no longer aware of. It's loosely referenced for a few chapters and then the exploration of sound and time is promptly dropped altogether for the rest of the book. I'm feeling uncharitable and would say this was a case of light idea co-opting before realising the topic is entirely out of her wheelhouse.
tsharris's review
4.0
I was drawn to this book after reading an excerpt from the "postwar/Ichigaya/Mishima" chapter and it didn't disappoint. Sherman's writing is beautiful and spare. It's an unusual book - part-memoir, part-history, part-travelogue, part-discourse on time and memory - and readers who come to it looking for a more conventional narrative will likely be disappointed. It also helps to know the geography of Tokyo before reading.
moconnell96's review
I didn't want to rate this book as I would feel bad leaving a low review - I felt like the author put a lot into this book, and it feels personal. It was sort of a cross between a memoir and a history/travel-type book - the latter genre is something I've discovered I don't think I'm into.