blows dust off the console for the website Apologies for the long delay since the last update for Chawner Writes. Thankfully, it’s not been for lack of writing. I’ve been cranking our short stories for my upcoming collection “After the Second Wave”. I have a healthy backlog of books to discuss. This is a combined review because of the relationship between the books and how they affect the reader.
Neither of these books are mainstream and probably not available in the local Barnes and Noble. I came across Shopkeeping on the Material Review. A bookseller in Seattle, Peter Miller, collected stories, lessons and anecdotes from a long career as a brick-and-mortar retailer. Fast and easy to read. Highly recommended, even if you (like me) never considered the art of shopkeeping.
While the content of the Shopkeeping is engaging, it’s only part of an overall experience. Miller writes like an American Zen master of his craft, inviting the reader to put the book down repeatedly, stare off into space and think what the words mean to them. Every part book’s layout, from its textured cover, author-drawn sketches of the shop, font, etc. engages the reader. Clearly Miller put the same care into the physical book as he does his shop. I’ve read a lot of books about creativity over the last few years, but only Rick Rubin’s invoked a similar reaction.
Miller mentions other books in Shopkeeping; books on art, design, rare books, etc. But one description caught my eye:
“(In Praise of Shadows) is a fascinating study of light and shadow and culture”. (Pg 54)
A book that relates light, shadows and culture? In Praise of Shadows did not disappoint. Written by Tanizaki, a famous Japanese author from the early 20th century, In Praise of Shadows is a short, concise, stream-of-consciousness examination of the elements that make the Japanese unique, especially when compared to the west.
As the title implies, many of his observations and theories revolve around shadows in Japanese architecture and life. For instance, he explores how traditional Japanese buildings limit the amount of light entering them, shaping the character of rooms, utensils, and the faces of actors with specific makeup. Jarringly (at least to this westerner) he discusses how the Western obsession with bringing as much light as possible into rooms has downsides. And this really highlights the true intent of the piece, contrasting between traditional Japanese use of shadows against westernization/modernization. Including a most interesting discussion of bathroom design.
Not only does Shopkeeping discuss In Praise of Shadows, the entire book is in conversation with Tanizaki’s treatise. By using aesthetics, both engage in a larger conversation on culture and community, exploring what is lost when physical shops and Japanese traditions are replaced. And both provoke deep contemplation about the world around the reader.