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Reviews
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (Yuasa) by Matsuo Bashō, Nobuyuki Yuasa
dennis_j's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it. The prose was a bit dry and flowery for my taste and I'm not equipped to comment on the actual Haiku, although some really transported me. Almost a third of the ones Basho included was by other poets, which I thought was strange. I got really curious about one of these poets towards the end of the book. Sora, Basho's travel companion. He seemed to have been a very dear friend...
buntingsir's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
sara_shocks's review against another edition
5.0
Sensational, in the meaning that this fully engages the senses
h3dakota's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, perfect snapshots of life on a very long journey. ::love::
gingerliss's review against another edition
3.0
This is a difficult book to rate, which is why I've given it a neutral three stars, for the following reasons :
1. This book was written in 17th century Japan, both a very different time and culture.
2. This book doesn't have one particular genre, it is part travel log and part poetry. Again, apply my first point to this and I have something in my hands that is not in the least bit similar to anything I've ever read before in my life.
3. The style of the book is very culture and time specific, I think, and is again something I've never come across before.
Now, what did I think?
It was a very interesting read as it has introduced me to a lot of new things. It felt a little bit like reading Marco Polo's travels. Although less boring (Marco Polo's travels are very repetitive), I have to give it that.
I found the style to be strange. Although I did get used to it eventually. I do feel like I missed a lot, just because my understanding of the Japanese culture in the time this was written is minimal. I've read quite a lot of travel writing, mostly modern, but also a few 'classics' and as far as travel writing goes this is not very descriptive. Basho basically states the places he travels to, the attractions in these places he visits and occasionally describes a scene during these visits. Furthermore, there's a lot of mentioning of people he meets or people who are (seemingly suddenly) travelling with him (often in a way that you as the reader should know exactly who he is referring to).
It feels like the book had a very particular audience in mind, and I am not that audience.
I found most of the journeying to be quite bland. I do believe Basho purposely didn't describe too much of the things he saw along the way, so as not to spoil it for others who want(ed) to make the journeys themselves. Which did leave a kind of magical mysterious feeling and an urge to at some point get out over to Japan and follow the man's tracks.
Something I thoroughly enjoyed, which I didn't expect, was the poetry. All the travel logs in the book have Basho's poetry throughout. The poetry is placed in logical moments and often describe a scene which Basho has seen at that moment innhis travels. They're, as far as I understood from the introduction, in haiku form, and/or linked verse. Now I am not very knowledgeable on poetry, to be honest, so please correct me if that is wrong. What I found to be so intriguing about this type of poetry is that it is very short ane often seemingly simple, also there seems to be a lot of repetition, but each poem seems to carry this wonderful feeling if awe. They're all quite beautiful. I believe that part of the idea of these poems is to read them and then meditate on them. Now I haven't tried this myself, yet, but I can imagine it being an interesting experience. First I must learn how to meditate and more about haiku though. One day when I get around to doing that, I will probably revisit this book and perhaps look at it in a very different light...
1. This book was written in 17th century Japan, both a very different time and culture.
2. This book doesn't have one particular genre, it is part travel log and part poetry. Again, apply my first point to this and I have something in my hands that is not in the least bit similar to anything I've ever read before in my life.
3. The style of the book is very culture and time specific, I think, and is again something I've never come across before.
Now, what did I think?
It was a very interesting read as it has introduced me to a lot of new things. It felt a little bit like reading Marco Polo's travels. Although less boring (Marco Polo's travels are very repetitive), I have to give it that.
I found the style to be strange. Although I did get used to it eventually. I do feel like I missed a lot, just because my understanding of the Japanese culture in the time this was written is minimal. I've read quite a lot of travel writing, mostly modern, but also a few 'classics' and as far as travel writing goes this is not very descriptive. Basho basically states the places he travels to, the attractions in these places he visits and occasionally describes a scene during these visits. Furthermore, there's a lot of mentioning of people he meets or people who are (seemingly suddenly) travelling with him (often in a way that you as the reader should know exactly who he is referring to).
It feels like the book had a very particular audience in mind, and I am not that audience.
I found most of the journeying to be quite bland. I do believe Basho purposely didn't describe too much of the things he saw along the way, so as not to spoil it for others who want(ed) to make the journeys themselves. Which did leave a kind of magical mysterious feeling and an urge to at some point get out over to Japan and follow the man's tracks.
Something I thoroughly enjoyed, which I didn't expect, was the poetry. All the travel logs in the book have Basho's poetry throughout. The poetry is placed in logical moments and often describe a scene which Basho has seen at that moment innhis travels. They're, as far as I understood from the introduction, in haiku form, and/or linked verse. Now I am not very knowledgeable on poetry, to be honest, so please correct me if that is wrong. What I found to be so intriguing about this type of poetry is that it is very short ane often seemingly simple, also there seems to be a lot of repetition, but each poem seems to carry this wonderful feeling if awe. They're all quite beautiful. I believe that part of the idea of these poems is to read them and then meditate on them. Now I haven't tried this myself, yet, but I can imagine it being an interesting experience. First I must learn how to meditate and more about haiku though. One day when I get around to doing that, I will probably revisit this book and perhaps look at it in a very different light...
rjbedell's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
Lovely to read Bashō’s travel sketches — his travels around Japan are full of little observations of beauty and life. I take issue with Nobuyuki Yuasa’s translations of the haiku — he usually adds his own embellishments, completely against the minimalist interest of the form, and turns them all from three lines into four. Far better translations of many of these haiku have come along since.
dragonsandfoxes's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25