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By Matsuo Basho
Translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa
Penguin Classics
Paperback $16.00
Reviewed by Dylan Parry
Matsuo Basho is a name many who have dipped a toe into haiku and Zen Buddhism know and have heard a lot about. Living in 17th Century Japan during the days of Shoguns and Emperors, Matsuo Basho’s travelogs show us the beauty in an otherwise tortured land. Written in the Haibun-style of part-haiku, part-prose, Basho treats us to his masterful skills that many know him for. And it’s all made better with Nobuyuki Yuasa’s excellent translation (originally in 1966,) which after exploring other translations and editions, I still stand firm and say Nobuyuki’s translation is all one really needs.
From the first travelog, to the title’s namesake, I was more than once tempted to take a trip of my own to see the cherry blossoms at Yoshino bloom, or visit one of the many temples and shrines Basho describes.
Basho has become a big influence on many, including the Beats and their San Francisco Renaissance cousins. It’s clear after reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North, just how Kerouac came to write On The Road, Gary Snyder putting down poems that would turn into Turtle Island, and millions of others who just love a good haiku and travel tale.
This is a book that can touch many in a number of different ways, no matter what part of the world one is from or finds themselves at. Any aspiring author, should read Basho. Any aspiring traveler, should read Basho. Everyone should just read and reread, and reread again, Matsuo Basho and his wonderful book, The Narrow Roads to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches. You will find, as I did, many new and wonderful little quotes and haikus to commit to memory, as well as perhaps giving you some new travel plans, and the inspiration to scribble on your hat, as Basho and a travel companion did, your own version of: “Nowhere in this wide universe have we a fixed abode — A party of two wanderers.”
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By Samantha Sotto Yambao
Del Rey Books
Hardcover $28.99
Reviewed by Claire Margetts
Is the world outside too much? Is the weight of real life a bit too heavy? Are the winter nights just a little too cold? Dissociate from it all and read Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. This little book is a balm for the soul, here to warm even the most cynical readers' hearts.
Hana Ishikawa is just about to start her first day as the new owner of her family's pawnshop– a wondrous place just outside of reality where people can trade away their deepest regrets– when she finds everything has gone wrong. The shop has been ransacked, one of her most valuable items is missing, and her father is nowhere to be found. She knows that if she doesn't find either of these things, the keepers of her little pocket world will be after her with some dire consequences. So, when a handsome customer shows up at her door and offers to help, who is she to say no?
To solve the mystery, the unlikely pair must dive further into Hana's world, uncovering family secrets that point to more than just a petty theft. It is here in their whirlwind race through Hana's world that makes this book truly sing. Evoking a Studio-Ghibli vibe, this rich realm springs to life with a softness and beauty (and just a hint of melancholy) of a very pleasant dream. Get lost in libraries where memories are kept folded in paper cranes, sail across a cloud sea to a night market in the sky, leap through puddles to travel anywhere, and traverse the bridge between midnight and morning– wherever the story takes you, it's stunning. Exploring this curious world is possibly the best part of the book.
The handsome stranger, Kei, and Hana's relationship grows as they hop from clue to clue, location to location. Her destiny has been predicted for her since she was young, and it does not include him. Yet, as they get to know each other more through their adventure, she begins to question her fate. How could something that feels so right cause such chaos? Emotions run high even in this subdued and dreamy setting, creating a beautifully subtle tension that bubbles in the background of each scene. It's enchanting. Can they rearrange destiny to be together?
The dreamy beauty of Water Moon will sweep you off your feet. It's a gentle book with very high stakes– something that takes a very deft hand to write, and Samantha Sotto Yambao tackles it with grace. If you're looking for warmth and joy, this is the book for you.
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February
Best Wellers’ Pick
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RECEIVE 20% OFF WHEN YOU PURCHASE DURING JANUARY AND FEBRUARY | |
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By Amy Gamerman
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover $29.99
Best Weller’s Price: $23.99
Reviewed by Frank Pester
One of my fondest memories as a child is sitting on the kitchen counter while my mom was cooking and looking out the window at the Wasatch Mountains. While reading this book, my next door neighbor built a two story apartment building, completely blocking our view out that window.
Amy Gamerman, a seasoned journalist for the Wall Street Journal, has written a narrative of an issue many Westerners face: who owns a view?
Set in the beautiful ranch lands tucked in the shadows of the majestic Crazy Mountain range, this is a land of wind, that sweeps down the mountains and through the valleys. Generations of people living in and around Big Timber have learned to deal with that great wind. Gamerman explains that the Crazies, “...are a magnet. The mountains have drawn human beings almost from the moment they emerged from the ice sheets that covered Montana in the Last Glacial Maximum.” This sacred land that had first belonged to the Crow Tribe was later eyed by settlers and the Northern Pacific Railroad. After the Civil War, the usual drama of exploitation the took place: first the gold seekers, then the buffalo hunters and railroad, followed soon after by homesteaders and cattle ranchers.
Rick Jarrett, a struggling rancher, wants to keep his ranch in the family after many generations. After talking with the enigmatic wind prospector Marty Wilde, Jarrett realized that he may be able to save the ranch by harnessing the mighty winds he has grown up with. “[Marty Wilde] didn’t pan for gold in a stream, he sought it in the air. The Meteorological tower, banded with sensors, wind vanes, and anemometers, was his dish. Montana had some of the best wind in the Lower 48. No one knew that better than Marty Wilde. He worked alone, a wildcatter with a gift for persuading ranchers to let him put up his jury-rigged met towers and secondhand anemometers on the land where the good wind flowed,” writes Gamerman.
The problem, however, is that Jarrett’s ranch is surrounded by ranches bought by some of the wealthiest and influential men in the country. Men who are not about to lose their beautiful view of the Crazies to 500 feet wind turbines.
Amy Gamerman caught wind of the trial that was taking place in Montana and knew it was a story to tell. Alternating between short transcripts of the trial and the history behind it, she tells the stories of its participants as well as the ins and outs of acquiring rights to build a wind farm. She travels across the country to see the lives of many of these wealthy men who have fallen in love with the beauty of the Crazy Mountain Range. On the flip side, Gamerman also sheds light on the struggles of the local ranchers as well as the almost insurmountable hoops one must go through in creating alternative energy. It is timely, well balanced, and well told, rightfully belonging to sit with the other books recently written about our changing West.
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Celebrate the Freedom to Read by joining Let Utah Read for a special, free, private pre-release screening of the new documentary film Banned Together.
Banned Together is a 90-minute feature documentary film about the current wave of book bans in the United States. It tells the local story of Beaufort, S.C., where 97 books are suddenly pulled from their school libraries after two adults threaten to take legal action against the school board.
The film follows three teenagers through their senior year of high school as they work together to fight book bans in Beaufort and then at the state and national levels. This community’s story is interwoven with the larger national landscape of book banning, including interviews with best-selling authors, policymakers, and experts.
While the screening is free, registration is requested.
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Click here for our February events newsletter.
And, as always, view our events calendar to see all of our upcoming events.
We host both virtual and in-person events, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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Come visit us!
SUNDAY 12-5
MONDAY-THURSDAY 10-8
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10-9
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