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A Barbarian in Asia by Henri Michaux
Requirements: .ePUB .MOBI Reader | 1.4 MB
Overview: Henri Michaux was barely thirty when he travelled to Southern and Eastern Asia. Still, he was no wild-eyed tourist, and though he designates himself a barbarian in Asia he felt no qualms in airing his opinions. The book covers a wide swathe of Asia -- India, the Himalayas, southern India, Ceylon, Malaya (from Malaysia to Bali), China, and Japan. French Indo-China is notably (and curiously) avoided.
In staccato style Michaux notes his impressions: there are long sections of paragraphs, each only a line in length. Elsewhere he digresses and discourses in a bit more detail. His eye and tongue are sharp. He does not insist on Western superiority, but acknowledges that through his Western eyes much seems unusual, odd, and inexplicable. The impression is often not a favourable one. Michaux's lens is certainly not rosily tinted. Generalizations abound. Some are ridiculous, many are trenchant. The quick sequence of statements and claims makes for a powerful effect. t is difficult to describe what Michaux does. Here a vaguely illustrative example, about the Japanese: A people, in fact, devoid of wisdom, of simplicity and of depth, over-serious, though fond of toys and novelties, not easily amused, ambitious, superficial and obviously doomed to our evils and our civilization. And over and over there are these penetrating glimpses of these foreign lands. It adds up convincingly, making for a remarkable though sometimes disturbing book. Even Michaux seems to have understood that what he wrote was far from politically correct: he revised the book (in particular the part on Japan). The New Directions edition fortunately preserves the earlier (though already somewhat revised) version.
There is a wealth of material here. Much of it is unkind, but much is surprisingly astute and still valid. Strongly recommended -- though natives of these lands might take offense.
Genre: Non Fiction Travel
Download Instructions:
http://katfile.com/xjcs85h2yn7s/BarbarianinAsia.rar.html
Mirror:
(Closed Filehost) http://filescdn.com/v529lhpa5z13
Requirements: .ePUB .MOBI Reader | 1.4 MB
Overview: Henri Michaux was barely thirty when he travelled to Southern and Eastern Asia. Still, he was no wild-eyed tourist, and though he designates himself a barbarian in Asia he felt no qualms in airing his opinions. The book covers a wide swathe of Asia -- India, the Himalayas, southern India, Ceylon, Malaya (from Malaysia to Bali), China, and Japan. French Indo-China is notably (and curiously) avoided.
In staccato style Michaux notes his impressions: there are long sections of paragraphs, each only a line in length. Elsewhere he digresses and discourses in a bit more detail. His eye and tongue are sharp. He does not insist on Western superiority, but acknowledges that through his Western eyes much seems unusual, odd, and inexplicable. The impression is often not a favourable one. Michaux's lens is certainly not rosily tinted. Generalizations abound. Some are ridiculous, many are trenchant. The quick sequence of statements and claims makes for a powerful effect. t is difficult to describe what Michaux does. Here a vaguely illustrative example, about the Japanese: A people, in fact, devoid of wisdom, of simplicity and of depth, over-serious, though fond of toys and novelties, not easily amused, ambitious, superficial and obviously doomed to our evils and our civilization. And over and over there are these penetrating glimpses of these foreign lands. It adds up convincingly, making for a remarkable though sometimes disturbing book. Even Michaux seems to have understood that what he wrote was far from politically correct: he revised the book (in particular the part on Japan). The New Directions edition fortunately preserves the earlier (though already somewhat revised) version.
There is a wealth of material here. Much of it is unkind, but much is surprisingly astute and still valid. Strongly recommended -- though natives of these lands might take offense.
Genre: Non Fiction Travel
Download Instructions:
http://katfile.com/xjcs85h2yn7s/BarbarianinAsia.rar.html
Mirror:
(Closed Filehost) http://filescdn.com/v529lhpa5z13