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A review by chris_dech
The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi
2.0
The content of the book itself is not poorly written, but Yanagi is impressively boring.
There's nothing wrong with valuing the crafts of the commoner and taking pride in national or even regional goods and arts. In fact, I even encourage such pride and appreciation of common goods and handicrafts.
The problem is how impressively boring Yanagi is. This collection of essays, letters, and what are ostensibly journal entries overstays its welcome. And he borders on a sanctimoniousness that just seems to disregard any opinions that do not totally agree or subscribe. Yanagi is that one person you know who you share an interest with, but they are almost obsessively enthusiastic in a way that just turns you off from talking about your shared interest.
We should take pride in the goods from our town, or city, et cetera. But that should not come at the cost of readability and alienating others from the appreciation of a nice teacup.
There's nothing wrong with valuing the crafts of the commoner and taking pride in national or even regional goods and arts. In fact, I even encourage such pride and appreciation of common goods and handicrafts.
The problem is how impressively boring Yanagi is. This collection of essays, letters, and what are ostensibly journal entries overstays its welcome. And he borders on a sanctimoniousness that just seems to disregard any opinions that do not totally agree or subscribe. Yanagi is that one person you know who you share an interest with, but they are almost obsessively enthusiastic in a way that just turns you off from talking about your shared interest.
We should take pride in the goods from our town, or city, et cetera. But that should not come at the cost of readability and alienating others from the appreciation of a nice teacup.