Meredith McKinney Knihy

In The Three-Cornered World , an artist leaves city life to wander in the mountains on a quest to stimulate his artistic endeavors. When he finds himself staying at an almost deserted inn, he becomes obsessed with the beautiful and strange daughter of the innkeeper, who is rumored to have abandoned her husband and fallen in love with a priest at a nearby temple. Haunted by her aura of mystery and tragedy, he wants to paint her. As he struggles to complete his picture and sove the enigma of her life, his daily conversations with those at the inn and the village provide clues and inspiration toward solving the mysteries she presents. Natsume Soseki examines each event and scene in this story in minute detail, creating balanced pictures in each small situation. Interspersed with philosophies of both the East and West, Soseki's writing blends two very different cultures and presents the unique world of an artist struggling with his craft and his environment. An evocative picture of the daily life in a mountain village of the times, The Three-Cornered World provokes thought and images equally.

A guiding light amid the world's chaos and a manual for rejecting materialism, in the form of writings by Japanese Buddhist monks These simple, inspiring writings by three medieval Buddhist monks offer peace and wisdom amid the world's uncertainties, and are an invitation to relinquish earthly desires and instead taste life in the moment. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives--and upended them. Now Penguin brings you a new set of the acclaimed Great Ideas, a curated library of selections from the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

Moonlight, spring blossom, a woman's hair - a medieval Japanese monk reflects on idle moments and life's fleeting joys.