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A review by translator_monkey
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thích Nhất Hạnh
4.0
I love reading Thich Nhat Hanh and have read everything of his that I can get my hands on. A lot of this rings very familiar, it's once again Thay's interpretation of bits of the Diamond Sutra for contemporary readers to easily digest, and applied against the backdrop of putting forward an effort to salvage what we can of an already dying planet. Poignant, powerful, and 100% worth your time.
I have an issue, however. Most of the book does not carry Thay's written "voice." In almost every other book I've read of Thay's, his voice is distinctive, peaceful, gentle, and direct. This time around, I was left with the feeling that I was reading more of the translator than the author, or perhaps that Thay's previous writings have been slightly adjusted to match the topic material. It also made me call into question Thay's physical ability to write a book right now, years after the massive stroke that's mostly taken him out of the limelight. I even came to question whether or not this could be a crass move on the part of Plum Village leadership to wring out one last book from their most famous teacher. I'm not suggesting this is the case, but the writing style was so starkly different that my mind started wandering off the topic on paper.
Having said all that, I found the book to be as engaging as it needed to be, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Buddhism.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. This impacted neither my review nor rating.
I have an issue, however. Most of the book does not carry Thay's written "voice." In almost every other book I've read of Thay's, his voice is distinctive, peaceful, gentle, and direct. This time around, I was left with the feeling that I was reading more of the translator than the author, or perhaps that Thay's previous writings have been slightly adjusted to match the topic material. It also made me call into question Thay's physical ability to write a book right now, years after the massive stroke that's mostly taken him out of the limelight. I even came to question whether or not this could be a crass move on the part of Plum Village leadership to wring out one last book from their most famous teacher. I'm not suggesting this is the case, but the writing style was so starkly different that my mind started wandering off the topic on paper.
Having said all that, I found the book to be as engaging as it needed to be, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Buddhism.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. This impacted neither my review nor rating.