Beauty and Chaos

Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life

By: Michael Pronko

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Whether contemplating Tokyo’s odd-shaped bonsai houses, pachinko parlors, chopstick ballet, or the perilous habit of running for trains, the short, personal writings in Beauty and Chaos explore Tokyo from the inside to reveal the city’s deeper meanings and daily pleasures. Part travelogue, part comparative culture, and packed with insights, these sharply observed vignettes tap into the daily mysteries of Tokyo life to reveal what’s beneath the gleaming, puzzling exterior of the biggest city in the world.

The overlooked slices and morsels of daily life show how, “In Tokyo, the symbolic and the practical are always beautifully intertwined.” Originally published in a monthly magazine column in Japanese, these little essays answer the questions Tokyo asks every day.

Tokyo emerges a fascinating city full of chaotic commotion and serene beauty - one of the most amazing, confusing places in the world. Novelist and professor Michael Pronko has lived, worked, and written in Tokyo for more than 20 years. He writes: “Tokyo is as complex as a long novel, as confusing as an avant-garde film and, sometimes, as strikingly beautiful as calligraphy.” See why.

©2014 Michael Pronko (P)2024 Michael Pronko

Captivating, fascinating and entertaining

Award-winning novelist and respected professor Michael Pronko, who has lived, worked and written in Tokyo for more than 20 years, invites us to take a tour of the largest city in the world in this beautiful series of superbly written essays.

I fell in love with Michael’s writing style listening to the award-winning detective Hiroshi series of mysteries, but from this non-fiction collection we can find out a lot about Tokyo life with deeply personal writings, observations, and insights. Complementing Michael’s sharply drawn descriptions is the absolute spot-on performance delivered by audiobooks industry legend and award-winning narrator Peter Berkrot. Drawing from his experience of recording more than 500 audiobooks, Peter manages to capture the perfect rhythm between the narrator’s voice and the tourist’s astonishment wondering those confusing streets and discovering their exotic secrets for the first time.

As I was listening to this audiobook I could literally see everything clearly and vividly in my mind’s eye thanks to the combined talents of these two amazing literary artists. I cannot recommend Beauty and Chaos enough to anyone interested to discover Tokyo in a different light.

Also, I highly recommend the above-mentioned Detective Hiroshi audiobooks, narrated, too, by the extremely dedicated Peter Berkrot.

Michael and Peter are a force of nature put together and I’m sure that they will delight and entertain us for many years to come! Beauty and Chaos – Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life is intriguing, informative, entertaining, and astonishing!

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Good insight on Tokyo’s life

I just came back from the city and I’m currently trying to fill up the gaps in my knowledge about. How does the city function. This book came in handy because it is a perspective of an American, just like myself. Thank you to another, I’ll try to get around to listening to other books of his on the same subject.