Audiobook1 hour
In Praise of Shadows
Written by Junichirō Tanizaki
Narrated by David Rintoul
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
‘Were it not for shadows there would be no beauty.’ In Praise of Shadows is an eloquent tribute to the austere beauty of traditional Japanese aesthetics. Through architecture, ceramics, theatre, food, women and even toilets, Tanizaki explains the essence of shadows and darkness, and how they are able to augment beauty. He laments the heavy electric lighting of the West and its introduction to Japan, and shows how the artificial, bright and polished aesthetic of the West contrasts unfavorably with the moody and natural light of the East. Dreamy, melancholic and mysterious, In Praise of Shadows is a haunting insight into a forgotten world.
Author
Junichirō Tanizaki
Junichiro Tanizaki (Tokio, 1886-Yugawara, 1965). Uno de los principales exponentes de la literatura japonesa del siglo XX, se licenció en la universidad de Tokio y pronto se sintió atraído por la literatura occidental. En 1949 fue galardonado con el Premio Imperial de Literatura por su obra La madre del capitán Shigemoto. En 1956, suscitó una gran polémica con su obra La llave por su audacia.
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Reviews for In Praise of Shadows
Rating: 4.298342541436464 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
181 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I hated this. It was the most pretentious little book ever.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A very enjoyable book about the value (heh) of lighting and how traditional Japanese architecture built around the concept. I look at Japanese photography with a new sense of knowledge since listening to this book and now wonder had pre electric western architecture survived in the public mind as long as it had in the East would we have a similar philosophy to aesthetics?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So beautiful , you will want to return to the past and live like that forever without the light of another screen.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inspiring! This carried me to a different place, a different world and a different time that feel within our grasp if only we open ourselves to it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascinating reflections of a brilliant writer who experienced the technological change in Japan at the turn of the century. It makes you look at the world more closely.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rather eccentric but fascinating observations from a great writer. Try it.