Review: Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings

Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings by Matsuo Bashō
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I'm not sure how to rate this. In fact, I'm not sure it can be rated. Part poetry, part travelogue, it should probably either be read alongside a map and commentary on the various places, or just consulted from time to time as a nice break from life. Regardless, I enjoyed it.

https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles

Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles by Simon Winchester
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like others, I read (and loved) "The Professor and the Madman", so when I saw the same author had written a book about Korea, I had to read it. Hmmmm. 

Some interesting notes:

- There used to be fencing all along the East coast (was this still there when I was there? It definitely wasn't as popular as it is now)

- Apparently you couldn't keep maps you bought outside the country. 

- The maps also didn't specify a border between North and South Korea (is this true??)

- Koreans weren't issued passports during the 1980s (?)

- I'd like to know more about the Catholic priests and nuns in Jejudo at the time. 

- The story about Jeju's (possibly) communist uprising before the Korean war was fascinating. 

- And at some point he says he mentions a Korean poet (brother of the buddhist monk he is hanging out with), called Hwang Chi-woo. Thanks to google, I can now confirm that it is probably this person: https://wordswithoutborders.org/contributors/view/hwang-ji-woo/

- Also fascinating about the Chollipo arboretum. 

Some others have commented on how critical he seems of US military personnel in Korea. While I find his general attitude very annoying, from what I remember from the 90s in Korea, some of that military personnel really wasn't the type you'd want to hang out with. Back then we would avoid Itaewon like the plague. Still, he constantly makes use of Americans and their facilities for places to stay, transportation, letting him go to the DMZ, etc., but feels the need to trash them at every turn, and loves to mention how much more he is respected as an Englishmen than an American would be. 

While we're at it, his attitude toward Korean women is irritating to say the least. Apparently they all can't get enough of him and seem to throw themselves at him. 

The most interesting part of the book is at the very end, when he mentions someone (whose name he isn't allowed to disclose), who apparently was allowed to go back and forth from South to North Korea and back freely. I assume, at this point, this person is retired and/or has passed away, but I can't seem to find any information on who it might be. 

2.5 stars

View all my reviews

Review: The Diary of Benjamin Reynolds: The Journal of a Voyage 'Round Cape Horn from Philadelphia to Chile and Back Again Via Rio de Janiero in 1840-41

The Diary of Benjamin Reynolds: The Journal of a Voyage 'Round Cape Horn from Philadelphia to Chile and Back Again Via Rio de Janiero in 1840-41 by Benjamin Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Knowing that the author (compiler) pretty much literally found this man's diary in an attic, and that it was an acquaintance of her great grandfather, and married a great-great aunt of hers (can that be right??) makes this more interesting than it otherwise would have been. I had hoped this diary would describe life in Valparaiso and/or Rio, or even just life on the ship, more in-depth. I guess there were some details about life on the ship, but not really for the "terra firma" stops. We hear about his days and activities, but little much else about the people, cities and locations. 

Still, an enjoyable glimpse into a real man's journey to South America in 1840. 

View all my reviews

Review: Traversing the Frontier: The Man'yōshū Account of a Japanese Mission to Silla in 736-737

Traversing the Frontier: The Man'yōshū Account of a Japanese Mission to Silla in 736-737 by H. Mack Horton
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I can't really rate this, since most of it was over my head. The actual travel account is from page 10 to 44 (with the Kanji and Japanese sounds transliterated as well). The rest is pretty much commentary. 

The first part is more or less an introduction, then the travelogue itself. Then "Traversing the Frontier", or basically a geographical tracing of where they (most likely) traveled. The sections after this (Internal contexts, Historical contexts, Literary contexts, Authorial and Editorial contexts) were pretty much over my head. I scanned some of the Historical contexts section, but even then I didn't absorb much. 

As for the travelogue itself, it isn't really a travelogue, but more a collection of poems and sentiments, most about how much they miss home and miss their wives. This was a bit disappointing, although I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy reading it. 

Still, obviously much work was done on this book, which from what I can tell is exhaustive and excellent, so hopefully someone more knowledgable than I am on the subject can give it a more thorough review. 

View all my reviews