The Floating World

Rating:
Summary: Floating Prose
Review: As is typical with Michener, not only does he manage to tell a great story, but somehow he squeezes in the whole universe: all the people, their thoughts, actions, backgrounds, lives, and histories of their country, art, styles, artists, etc., involved in this tale of the art world all the way from the dawn til he lifted his pen from the page.

This is the definitive study of the ukiyo-e masters and the Japanese prints of the Edo era. It details things print by print, artist by artist. An amazing work. No wonder, as Howard Link mentions in his forward, that people were so impressed with Michener's command of this subject that he was literally given entire collections of fantastic ancient Japanese artwork. This chronicles why Michener became the world's premiere collector and savior of the ukiyo-e masterpieces. It also makes abundantly clear why Michener is a master of prose much like the artists he loved were masters of this unique block and ink medium.

Thomas

Rating:
Summary: Floating Prose
Review: As is typical with Michener, not only does he manage to tell a great story, but somehow he squeezes in the whole universe: all the people, their thoughts, actions, backgrounds, lives, and histories of their country, art, styles, artists, etc., involved in this tale of the art world all the way from the dawn til he lifted his pen from the page.

This is the definitive study of the ukiyo-e masters and the Japanese prints of the Edo era. It details things print by print, artist by artist. An amazing work. No wonder, as Howard Link mentions in his forward, that people were so impressed with Michener's command of this subject that he was literally given entire collections of fantastic ancient Japanese artwork. This chronicles why Michener became the world's premiere collector and savior of the ukiyo-e masterpieces. It also makes abundantly clear why Michener is a master of prose much like the artists he loved were masters of this unique block and ink medium.

Thomas

Rating:
Summary: You better like Japanese art before you read this...
Review: Michener describes in exhausting detail his fascination with Japanese woodblock prints, discussing their origins, the collaborating history and how the subject matter may have changed as a result of political and social influences within Japan. The most enjoyable part of the book for those who have no equal fascination for this art form are the stories that Michener inserts regarding local personalities and historical origins. Also, page references to illustrations do not clearly correspond, as though there may have been some misunderstanding on this reviewer's part or a mass typographical error in this edition. Dear reader is best suited to have a keen interest in this art form in order to fully appreciate the work that Michener presents.