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Building My Zen Garden
Kieran Egan had a fantasy. Inspired by a visit to a friend’s miniature Zen garden on a balcony in Nagoya, he returned home determined to build his own Japanese garden.
Like many men his age, with kids grown up and moved away, he was ready to tackle something new — and tackle was the right word. Even before he began, he had to spend days hacking at the overgrown thicket where his garden would be. At night, dreaming of roots with nothing to do but grow, he thought less about Zen masters than about Dorothy Parker, who observed, “Every year, back comes spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.” In spite of the running conflict between Zen philosophy and his own rather slapdash methods, he succeeded in creating “a treat for the eye and spirit.” Like Michael Pollan’s A PLACE OF MY OWN, BUILDING MY ZEN GARDEN will appeal to men, and to women as a gift for men. In these prosperous times, when men of the baby-boom generation are often looking for something new, building a Zen garden could very well be it — even if, after reading and laughing at the author’s adventures, they never build one themselves.
Like many men his age, with kids grown up and moved away, he was ready to tackle something new — and tackle was the right word. Even before he began, he had to spend days hacking at the overgrown thicket where his garden would be. At night, dreaming of roots with nothing to do but grow, he thought less about Zen masters than about Dorothy Parker, who observed, “Every year, back comes spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.” In spite of the running conflict between Zen philosophy and his own rather slapdash methods, he succeeded in creating “a treat for the eye and spirit.” Like Michael Pollan’s A PLACE OF MY OWN, BUILDING MY ZEN GARDEN will appeal to men, and to women as a gift for men. In these prosperous times, when men of the baby-boom generation are often looking for something new, building a Zen garden could very well be it — even if, after reading and laughing at the author’s adventures, they never build one themselves.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 3, 2017
It's a hard task to make a technical piece of writing enjoyable and that's the struggle this author has had to cope with. He certainly trimmed off some of the dryness but it still isn't a page turner if you know what I mean.
One thing that I hold both the author and the publisher at fault is the black and white photos throughout the book. This book need color photos or not done at all. He would describe colors of rock and all you get to see is gray. If it's too costly to print then do us all a favor and don't.
One thing that I hold both the author and the publisher at fault is the black and white photos throughout the book. This book need color photos or not done at all. He would describe colors of rock and all you get to see is gray. If it's too costly to print then do us all a favor and don't.
July 15, 2013
hardcover, stickers on dust jacket.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews