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A review by nicole_torok
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Bashō
3.0
3.5 - Another one I read for school...
The first thing that stood out to me was an alliteration, where Bashō describes his "dilapidated dwelling". I also appreciated the use of personification ("river swollen with rain", "the high ones [mountains] point their fingers to heaven; those lying down crawl over the waves", "wrapped in quiet". I thought the last one to be a very powerful and clever line; to be wrapped by something so loud as silence.
This story is very imagery heavy, leaning into the lyrical writing and detailed visuals.
Some of my favorite lines include:
"I became possessed by a spirit, which crazed my soul"
"birds crying and tears in the eyes of the fish"
"falling into a blue pool of a thousand rocks"
I did, however, run into a few problems with the writing. The style of the poems were kind of confusing and I wasn't sure what they were supposed to mean. There were also so many different places and landmarks that all had specific meanings, but it was difficult to keep track of them, and therefore, lost significance for me.
Overall, pretty interesting for something I had to read for class. The imagery is definitely what makes it stand out from others that I have read.
The first thing that stood out to me was an alliteration, where Bashō describes his "dilapidated dwelling". I also appreciated the use of personification ("river swollen with rain", "the high ones [mountains] point their fingers to heaven; those lying down crawl over the waves", "wrapped in quiet". I thought the last one to be a very powerful and clever line; to be wrapped by something so loud as silence.
This story is very imagery heavy, leaning into the lyrical writing and detailed visuals.
Some of my favorite lines include:
"I became possessed by a spirit, which crazed my soul"
"birds crying and tears in the eyes of the fish"
"falling into a blue pool of a thousand rocks"
I did, however, run into a few problems with the writing. The style of the poems were kind of confusing and I wasn't sure what they were supposed to mean. There were also so many different places and landmarks that all had specific meanings, but it was difficult to keep track of them, and therefore, lost significance for me.
Overall, pretty interesting for something I had to read for class. The imagery is definitely what makes it stand out from others that I have read.