The Other Face of the Moon

“Lévi-Strauss was certainly not the only French intellectual to develop a fascination for Japan. Indeed, Japan’s sculptured landscapes, highly stylized rituals and philosophies of self-denial struck a particular chord with his structuralist contemporaries, Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault. But the impressions gathered here are distinctively his, and indeed sometimes read as if they were lifted straight from the Mythologiques… There is much to admire [here]… Still fizzing with ideas as he approached eighty, Claude Lévi-Strauss never relented on his increasingly lonely structuralist quest. His fascination for Japanese traditions, similar to his lifelong obsession with ethnography in general, stemmed in part from his feeling of alienation from modernity.”—Patrick Wilcken, Times Literary Supplement

“This new slim compendium of eminent anthropologist Lévi-Strauss’s lectures, interviews, and musings reflect his adoration and intellectual curiosity about all things Japanese. Interweaving moments of personal and professional significance, Lévi-Strauss recounts the trajectory of an intrigue generated by a childhood fascination with Japanese prints given to him by his father that later evolved into his love of Japanese literature, food, and practices… This collection illuminates the zeal that motivates Lévi-Strauss’s anthropological work and is therefore a pleasant read for anyone with an interest in Japan, cultural difference, or anthropological studies.”—Publishers Weekly