The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Matsuo Basho

To me, Matsuo Basho is a name synonymous to haiku. The first time I read a book of Matsuo Basho's haikus was Lips Too Chilled, from the Penguin Little Black Classics series. And I was: okay, meh. So, if I wasn't impressed by that, why did I read another one of his works: The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches? Because of the second to the last word on the title: travel.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches contains his travel narratives, interspersed with haiku poems he had written during those travels. The book is only 160 pages long, and 40 of it was for the introduction alone, which was essential in understanding Matsuo Basho's narratives. There were so many passages and poems in this book that I could relate to (which prompted me to re-read and appreciate Lips Too Chilled the second time around). One of my favorites in The Narrow Road is: "Indeed, one of the greatest pleasures of travelling was to find a genius hidden among weeds and bushes, a treasure lost in broken tiles, a mass of gold buried in clay, and when I did find such a person, I always kept a record with the hope that I might be able to show it to my friends."

When I grow up, I want to be like Matsuo Basho. A traveler and a writer.

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