Description: After meeting the well-educated wife of a Japanese "salaryman", Iyer fashions "a beautifully written book about someone looking for ancient dreams in a strange modern place" (LA Times Book Review)--one that is both a portrait of cross cultural infatuation--and misunderstanding--and a fresh way of seeing the old and the new Japan.
Review Quotes: "[Iyer] is a sharp-eyed and thoughtful observer, and he is successful in evoking the life of Kyoto's malls, temples, and back streets, moonlit nights on the water, and the vulgarity of the Westernized nightclub and amusement quarter." -- New Yorker
"Pico Iyers remarkable talent is enough justification for going anywhere in the world he fancies." -- Washington Post Book World