Reviews for Hitching rides with Buddha

The average rating for Hitching rides with Buddha based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-11-28 00:00:00 Bib Lou Not many things that advertise themselves as blues actually deliver the emotion. It was somewhat startling, then, to discover that this book is in fact deeply, profoundly melancholic. Ferguson started with nothing but a boast, elevated by coworkers more enthusiastic than he is into a grand plan. To hitchhike the length of Japan isn't a particularly sane or rational plan, but caught up in the enthusiasm of those who hear of it, he eventually goes through with it. In the beginning, all is well. This is exciting! This is an adventure! This is an adventure, and the enthusiasm is palpable; it evidences itself through the lively interactions with the people who give him rides and the enthusiastic descriptions of the places through which he passes. Extroverted and chatty, Ferguson is having a grand time making his way northward from Cape Sata in the company of strangers. The adventure of following the Sakura front is an exhilarating quest. Quests are tricky things, though. Weeks in, halfway across the nation, Ferguson outruns the Sakura. He's no longer following the blooming rush of spring; he's migrated into places where winter still reigns, and the entire tone of the enterprise changes accordingly. He gives up on the notion of paying only for interisland ferries. He begins drinking heavily. He isn't having fun anymore, but he never considers giving up. Finally reaching Cape Sōya, well overbudget and overdue back at work, he discovers he is not finished; there remain tiny islands, points farther north. Ferguson is not Don Quixote; if nothing else, his adventures are more engaging. There are strong structural similarities, though. Like the Don, he is engaged in a quest accomplished by means of superficially distinct but ultimately identical subquests. Like the Don, his pursuit of the quest extends well past the point of reason. Like the Don, the ultimate result is tragic. Ferguson books a ferry further north, to Rishiri Island, where he is stranded by a storm. Unable to complete his quest, job and visa in jeopardy, incomplete and unsatisfied, the book ends. The book matches the tone of the text in its structure; early chapters are long anecdotes about amusing incidents, but later chapters simply lay down the bare facts in terse language. Ferguson can be an engaging and entertaining author, but he chooses instead to induce his emotions of the time in the reader. As a consequence, this is a difficult, powerful, anticathartic story. The hero's journey ends frustrated. This is more than a travel story. It's a dissection of the soul of Japan. It's the tale of the elation of embarking upon a unique and challenging quest, and the dissatisfaction of accomplishing it. It's about a man discovering that he has evolved. None of these are easy themes, but Ferguson manages them with all the grace possible. You may not like the book after reading it, but you won't regret it.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-12-22 00:00:00 Matthew Rosin This book stopped me falling asleep at my regular hour night after night because it had me laughing so much. Will Ferguson's ironic sense of humour is very amusing, and a good balance to his insightful observations on Japan. I'm skeptical of foreigners who spend a few years in Japan and then write a book explaining some unique, mysterious aspect of the country. But this guy is fully qualified, having done enough time in a remote area the country to have learned sufficient Japanese, has the ability to take the piss out of himself and enough flint in his heart to send up others as well. Most importantly, he writes well. His travelogue about chasing the cherry blossom front north while hitchhiking was funny - sometimes hilarious, and sometimes downright moving (like the part about his Scottish ex-girlfriend). A journey like this couldn't be done anymore, in an age of total connection and information, no one would get stranded on a remote road, unable to call for help because there was no pay phone nearby, and with only paper travels guides to follow. The chapter on how he got arrested following The Lonely Planets advice to try and pick up a ride at the entrance ramp to the expressway had me splitting my sides. Many thanks to Lily who gave me this as a 50th (gasp!) birthday present.