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ganettorain's review
4.0
So many beautiful thoughts and quotes from a wistful, melancholic book about autumn and the changing of seasons, of the frailty of mortality and the cycle of life and death, about the quiet spaces and moments in life, about memory and dysfunctional/ functional relationships. (& I would love to read more about Pico Iyer and his wife, Hiroko!)
It isn’t the book that I need right now. (After all, I saved this for my trip to Japan, which was then cancelled because COVID. So reading this kept reminding me of Japan, and how being there felt, especially on that solo trip I took two years ago.) But it is a beautiful book all the same.
It isn’t the book that I need right now. (After all, I saved this for my trip to Japan, which was then cancelled because COVID. So reading this kept reminding me of Japan, and how being there felt, especially on that solo trip I took two years ago.) But it is a beautiful book all the same.
apurvanagpal's review against another edition
4.0
“Cheery blossoms, pretty and frothy as schoolgirls’ giggles, are the face the country like to present to the world, all pink and white eroticism; but it’s the reddening of the maple leaves under a blaze of ceramic-blue skies that is the place’s Secret heart.”
Part memoir part travelogue, Autumn Light is a Literary trip to Japan😍 We follow Iyer to Kyoto, a small town in Japan, after his father-in-law’s demise, overcoming the aftermath of death, loss and change.
The book doesn’t follow a particular timeline so it was a little tough to follow in the beginning but Iyer interweaves his early memories of Japan, and this particular visit beautifully; sharing his mundane day routines, his learnings and time spent with Dalai Lama, all through the changing Japan seasons.
Iyer reminisces his first visit to Japan, when he met his wife Hiroko and the father-in-law, who shares vivid and touching details of the Second World War in which he fought and the devastation of his hometown, Hiroshima.
We meet his wife and mother-in-law, who doesn’t quite accept the parting of his husband, a few faded glimpses of Hiroko’s brother who has abandoned the family after Hiroko’s failed first marriage and the friends he spends his evenings with.
The descriptions of the the little Japanese town, the maples, the changing seasons and the culture are so tempting and beautiful. The books leave you introspecting about the fragility of life, ageing and to cherish little things in life while they last.
A 3.5/5 for me and recommended if you love memoirs, lyrical writing and Japan.
Part memoir part travelogue, Autumn Light is a Literary trip to Japan😍 We follow Iyer to Kyoto, a small town in Japan, after his father-in-law’s demise, overcoming the aftermath of death, loss and change.
The book doesn’t follow a particular timeline so it was a little tough to follow in the beginning but Iyer interweaves his early memories of Japan, and this particular visit beautifully; sharing his mundane day routines, his learnings and time spent with Dalai Lama, all through the changing Japan seasons.
Iyer reminisces his first visit to Japan, when he met his wife Hiroko and the father-in-law, who shares vivid and touching details of the Second World War in which he fought and the devastation of his hometown, Hiroshima.
We meet his wife and mother-in-law, who doesn’t quite accept the parting of his husband, a few faded glimpses of Hiroko’s brother who has abandoned the family after Hiroko’s failed first marriage and the friends he spends his evenings with.
The descriptions of the the little Japanese town, the maples, the changing seasons and the culture are so tempting and beautiful. The books leave you introspecting about the fragility of life, ageing and to cherish little things in life while they last.
A 3.5/5 for me and recommended if you love memoirs, lyrical writing and Japan.
krwilson's review
5.0
Pico Iyer’s Autumn Light is a book to settle into like a fragrant bath. It’s an expansive meditation on late life as autumn and coming to terms with impermanence. And ping pong. It nicely bookends his superb 1992 memoir The Lady and the Monk.
midgardener's review
4.0
A poignant, introspective glance into one autumn in Kyoto. Iyer's own seasons have turned to autumn, and his mind turned with them, re-running memories of his mother, his arrival in Japan a quarter-century ago, and the in-laws he gained upon marriage. This book is immensely readable: indeed, it holds the theme of "autumn" so tightly to its breast throughout the entire work that it ultimately feels like an extended reflective essay. As Iyer's mother-in-law progresses through loss of memory, and as his wife, Hiroko, grapples with the death of her father and the continuing social loss of her estranged brother, we watch the leaves of Kyoto turn to scarlet and the air become veined with chill. Much of Iyer's reflections reside in the company of his ping pong friends at a local fitness center, many of whom use the sporting community for escape from home lives and health worries, or simply to have fun. As Hiroko puts it, this book is a "little no-action movie." Don't come here for a plot; come here to hear the grunts of 70-year olds swinging paddles, to walk through Iyer's vignettes of a life lived in between worlds, to watch the leaves turn on their branches.
It's a beautiful book, but I still felt the need to detract a star due to a weakness in dialogue. Iyer is a gifted guide when narrating; but during the frequent conversations between him and his wife of 20-some years, I almost always felt like he was an interviewer. These were supposedly organic, everyday conversations, and yet they constantly consisted of Hiroko stating something (often out of the blue; i.e. she wakes up and delivers a heavy comment concerning her late father) and Iyer asking strangely probing questions. They never last long, perhaps out of a desire to make them seem "important" via simplicity; but that, too, is strange. All said, these encounters paint a picture of a relationship somewhat devoid of mental intimacy. These odd encounters are accompanied by Iyer's descriptions of his wife's habits and lifestyle. To love is to know, and yet when he gives us insight into Hiroko's life it's with a highly observational eye that doesn't quite mesh with long years of marriage.
Still: this is a perfect book to read during the waning days of fall. Neither joyous nor especially sad, it reflects on the inching of time and all the great and small things that occur because of it. I imagine I'll return to it at least once down the years ahead.
It's a beautiful book, but I still felt the need to detract a star due to a weakness in dialogue. Iyer is a gifted guide when narrating; but during the frequent conversations between him and his wife of 20-some years, I almost always felt like he was an interviewer. These were supposedly organic, everyday conversations, and yet they constantly consisted of Hiroko stating something (often out of the blue; i.e. she wakes up and delivers a heavy comment concerning her late father) and Iyer asking strangely probing questions. They never last long, perhaps out of a desire to make them seem "important" via simplicity; but that, too, is strange. All said, these encounters paint a picture of a relationship somewhat devoid of mental intimacy. These odd encounters are accompanied by Iyer's descriptions of his wife's habits and lifestyle. To love is to know, and yet when he gives us insight into Hiroko's life it's with a highly observational eye that doesn't quite mesh with long years of marriage.
Still: this is a perfect book to read during the waning days of fall. Neither joyous nor especially sad, it reflects on the inching of time and all the great and small things that occur because of it. I imagine I'll return to it at least once down the years ahead.
chadhavu's review
5.0
Slow, sweet, thoughtful look at our autumn years. Filled with joy, uncertainty and loss in equal measures, but overwhelmingly gentle.
reallifereading's review
5.0
Some days you need that quick read. That fast paced, heart-racing, blood-pumping kind of book. This is not that. Autumn Light is the gentle kind of read that takes days, weeks to wander through and ponder, and to appreciate Iyer’s gentle musings and observations about life in Japan, issues about aging, and the fragility of life. A beautiful and thoughtful read. Highly recommended!