Talking to High Monks in the Snow: An Asian American Odyssey [Paperback]

Lydia Minatoya (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1993

Winner of the 1991 PEN/Jerard Fund Award, Talking to High Monks in the Snow captures the passion and intensity of an Asian-American woman's search for cultural identity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this often delightful memoir of a Japanese American woman's youth in upstate New York, caught between her immigrant parents' culture and her own American experience, two sketches in particular are most revealing. Minatoya's father, a research scientist long employed by the same firm, is nearing retirement when he discovers he has been paid the same wages as his lab assistant. His two outraged daughters, perceiving racial discrimination, cry out: "Sue them blind!" But his Japanese dignity is at stake; besides, he has loved his work and was grateful for the chance to do it, and he feels strong loyalty to his employers. On the other hand, the daughters are entranced when their mother--a clothes designer and seamstress proud to have a career--plucks ancient tunes on her okoto for them, like a traditional Japanese woman. Minatoya is at her lyrical best with such family scenes, and there is both humor and pathos in her account of a visit to relatives in Japan, where she is as much an outsider as she is at home in the U.S. But when she focuses on her American self, her insights falter. The details of a disastrous first teaching job in Boston are sketchy, and her teaching adventures in Okinawa and China are richer in travelogue color than in personal revelations. Despite such weakn e sses, however, the book's charms are many. Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A finely worded memoir of coming to terms with a Japanese heritage, by a Japanese-American who's a community-college counselor in Seattle. ``Feudal Japan floats around my mother,'' Minatoya writes. ``It followed her into our American home and governed my girlhood life....In that feudal code, all females were silent and yielding.'' But Minatoya is an American brought up on ``iconoclastic choice and irrepressible hope,'' uncomfortable with ``being in-between.'' Here, her spiritual journey begins with memories of growing up in Albany in the 1950's and of the tragic figure of a grandmother she knew only from one photograph. Her mother's mother had been divorced, ``banished'' from her samurai- descended family, and separated permanently from her children--the price of having a love affair. From Boston, where the author had a ``tenure track contract'' at -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060923725
• ISBN-13: 978-0060923723
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grateful to Ms. Minatoya for sharing....Engrossing.........., October 28, 1998

By 

Debbie Yeung ([e-mail]) (New York City, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking to High Monks in the Snow: An Asian American Odyssey (Paperback)

I was reading "Growing Up Asian American" and had it for over a year. Recently I have been wanting to hear more from other Asian Americans and so, resumed reading the excerpts authors shared. I read Ms. Minatoya's story and was disappointed that there wasn't more! So the next day I went and bought Talking to High Monks in the Snow. And I have just finished reading it. It's one of those books that I come across infrequently, the kind that I absolutely MUST get to the last page before I go to sleep. Because of school I longed for the moments when I could sit and enjoy my newfound treasure, on trains, breaks, at home. Ms. Minatoya is subtle in her writing but it sure hits you when you're through with the sentence. I felt the pangs of pain and embarassment and degradation when she did. It brought back sad memories. The great thing though is that she isn't sappy and she doesn't want my pity just because I relate to her. Ms. Minatoya is eloquently matter-of-fact. With each section of her book, I was amazed more and more. I wished I went to all the places she has been to, Boston, Japan, China, Nepal, and done the things she has. Actually, I admire her because she was and probably still is BOLD and DETERMINED. She has gone to all these countries and actually lived and worked there, not just visit as a tourist. She has taught and communicated deeply with people in these countries. Thanks to Ms. Minatoya, I have this urge to start a club at my college. A reading and discussional group for Asian Americans and non-Asians. I feel that many in my school and city do not appreciate our rich heritage as much as I wish they did. A club that will teach and show through discussions, reading, and debate, the sincere, talented, proud people such as Ms. Minatoya. Talking to High Monks in the Snow is a truly wonderful book for Asians and non-Asians alike. Before I read it for the second time...Thanks Amazon for letting me share my thoughts!

Debbie Yeung

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is just like a journey..., August 5, 2005

By 

Etsuko Nishiki (Yokohama, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking to High Monks in the Snow: An Asian American Odyssey (Paperback)

Traveling always brings a new dimension to yourself. This is an odyssey of a Sansei(the third generation of Japanese-American) woman, who has been wondering about who she is and where she belongs.
Like Amy Tan's "The Opposite of Fate", she wrotes about her background (her immigrant grandparents, Nisei-Kibei parents, sister and herself) and her identity crisis.
After growing up, she went on a trip to Asia (Japan, China, and Nepal) and met nice local people, and found some family secrets and her new Asian identity. Eventually, she comes to feel more comfortable to be Asian-American.
I recently happened to take this book while traveling in Seattle. I'm so glad to find such an amazing book.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, July 13, 2003

By 

K. B. Brown "Renaissance woman" (Sierra Madre, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Talking to High Monks in the Snow: An Asian American Odyssey (Paperback)

I would suggest that you read this only after reading The Strangeness of Beauty, which is a wonderfully written novel.