zahanm's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful weaving together of Japanese culture, and the textures of loss.
amandaleib's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. Pico Iyer is my favorite nonfiction writer, and my favorite books of his focus on moving to Japan and his experiences there. Autumn Light is the perfect read for the season, and for anyone struggling with changes, grief, or just needing a cozy, calming read.
thearbiter89's review
4.0
I read this with no expectations and was surprised to find a strangely moving and eloquent set of reflections on senescence and death, which, in Japan, finds expression in the fire-hued season of autumn.
I had not read Pico Iyer before and had the impression that he was one of those travel writers that like to pronounce declarative things about places they've only been to a couple of times, but in this book, he displays a gift for conveying his thoughts without overwrought exposition.
Instead, the thematic marrow of this book finds expression through his deft depictions of events in his shared life - the main framing device of the death and funeral of his wife's father, the post-widowhood mental decline her mother, of the slowly dwindling numbers at his local ping-pong club.
These anecdotes do not purport to tell you anything specific about how the Japanese deal with such things - but they do tell you of how people around Iyer - who all happen, by circumstance, to be Japanese - deal with it: with an equanimity borne out of a culturally-transmitted understanding of ephemerality through the passage of seasons. There is, in this sense, not the presumption of knowledge that is being declared, but a tentative offering of a slice of human experience, rendered as a small meditation for the reader to take what they may.
I give this: 4 out of 5 ping pong matches
I had not read Pico Iyer before and had the impression that he was one of those travel writers that like to pronounce declarative things about places they've only been to a couple of times, but in this book, he displays a gift for conveying his thoughts without overwrought exposition.
Instead, the thematic marrow of this book finds expression through his deft depictions of events in his shared life - the main framing device of the death and funeral of his wife's father, the post-widowhood mental decline her mother, of the slowly dwindling numbers at his local ping-pong club.
These anecdotes do not purport to tell you anything specific about how the Japanese deal with such things - but they do tell you of how people around Iyer - who all happen, by circumstance, to be Japanese - deal with it: with an equanimity borne out of a culturally-transmitted understanding of ephemerality through the passage of seasons. There is, in this sense, not the presumption of knowledge that is being declared, but a tentative offering of a slice of human experience, rendered as a small meditation for the reader to take what they may.
I give this: 4 out of 5 ping pong matches
kitchensensei's review against another edition
4.0
Felt a lot of nostalgia over the description of the seasons in Japan. Struggled a bit with the stream of consciousness writing, but we still an enjoyable read.
autumn_dannay's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written, although the story wasn’t as appealing to me. I’m still glad I read this book, even if I didn’t enjoy it.
laurenceratte's review against another edition
5.0
This is the best book I've read in my entire life.
oliviachen7's review against another edition
4.0
This book left my heart tender and open. Through the lens of autumn in Japan, Iyer’s gentle prose and observant gaze made the age-old questions about time and death still feel poignant: “how to hold on to the things we love even though we know that we and they are dying. How to see the world as it is, yet find light within that truth.” There’s also something to be said for a book finding you at the right time — I’m glad I read this at a time of transition between chapters and I think it resonated more because of that.
I think aging is often depicted as a very depressing experience (and there are still themes around elders getting left behind by their children, as they have the freedom their parents wished for them), so I really loved his descriptions of skilled octogenarians he regularly plays ping pong with - they have a full life. The beauty of his other quotidian observations made me want to seek more beauty and joy in the simple occurrences of daily life, not in the grand moments.
I think aging is often depicted as a very depressing experience (and there are still themes around elders getting left behind by their children, as they have the freedom their parents wished for them), so I really loved his descriptions of skilled octogenarians he regularly plays ping pong with - they have a full life. The beauty of his other quotidian observations made me want to seek more beauty and joy in the simple occurrences of daily life, not in the grand moments.