"Rarely in any writing on Japan is provocation so elegantly and surgically performed . . . A decorous rush of thoughts." –
Financial Times
"Both deep and witty. . . . Iyer makes a perfect cultural translator. What he offers us is a Japan inside out, its inner workings laid bare and made intelligible." –
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
"When one of the best-loved travel writers of our time comes out with a book that is part cheat sheet and part tribute to his home of over thirty years, it's not an understatement to say that it is a must-read." –
Elle (India)
"A glimpse into the humorous and profound moments that reveal the essence of the island nation." –
Afar "With an elegant, understated manner, Iyer offers poignant reflections on his adopted country and its maddening contradictions and shifting parts. . . . Marvelously nuanced reflections on a nation 'in constant motion.'" –
Kirkus Reviews "[A] lovely pocket compendium of oddities and insights of Japanese life. . . . Provocative and elegant, Iyer's guide succeeds precisely because it doesn't attempt to be authoritative." –
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Iyer's observations and provocations are packaged in spare but descriptive prose, so fitting for the minimalist tradition in Japanese art and literature." –
PopMatters "One of the most profound strengths of
A Beginner's Guide to Japan is the way it winds up emphasizing what it is to feel like a beginner as much as it emphasizes Japan itself. Iyer's assertions about Japan . . . seem to come not from some obscured authorial voice, but from a specific human being who is trying to begin an intimate conversation with a reader." –
Chapter 16 "Candid and wholly absorbing, Iyer's inventive guidebook is more than a collection of cultural curiosities–it's a tribute to a nation that prizes social consciousness and sees life in temporality." –
Booklist (starred review)
"Iyer's Japan is a captivating, and sometimes maddening portrait of a nation unlike any other. . . . This meditative and occasionally cheeky guide to Japan from Pico Iyer will delight Japanophiles and armchair travelers alike." –
Shelf Awareness "Insightful and profound without claiming to be authoritative. . . . Despite his genuine humility, Iyer can nail Japan with lyrical eloquence. . . . Always mindful of describing a hall of mirrors, Iyer shifts nimbly between perspectives, embracing inconsistency like a sage." –
The Japan Times