Tropical Classical : Essays from Several Directions

by Pico Iyer

Release Date: 30 June, 1998

Edition: Paperback

Price:

More Info

Not what we might expect

I like Pico Iyer enough to say I have read all his books. This is by far the worst. I struggled to finish it. Filled with book reviews and essays on things like the use of commas it is not what I have come to expect from him. The first 50 pages were ok, but after that it went down hill. I was in Hokkaido Japan over Xmas with this book, hoping to read it near the fire at night. I resorted to my only alternative -- reading Japanese Manga in Japanese (which I can barely read) rather than face this book again. Buy another selection by Pico, not this one.

Imagine a pomegranate--juicy, pithy, tart and satisfying.

After hearing Pico Iyer speak I began devouring TROPICAL CLASSICAL only to discover it's not an easy read. There are many jewels of interest and pleasure in these essays, but I delighted most in Iyer's use of simple-looking words I don't quite know. The dictionary always revealed a definition so pure any other word would have missed the point. Like Barry Lopez, Iyer exposes his views of the world in rich detail and focus. He's so full of experience none of these pieces are throwaway blurbs, yet he ends celebrating silence.