This is for a niche audience. But I suspect anyone that picks it up will find some benefit and wisdom here. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

The premise here is that a male hermit lives on a mountain and one day decides to walk down to the modern people living at the base, dispensing his wisdom as he goes. Each person that he interacts with (at least initially) starts to follow the hermit over the course of the day as he keeps wondering around the settlement. It put me in mind of the pied-piper and I kept wondering where the hermit would lead them.

The book is beautifully laid out with little images and wide margins.

However, this is very much a case of style over substance. The sayings are just positive mindfulness, albeit phrased well, and won’t be of help when things really get tough, e.g. facing terminal cancer and wanting to live (except the advice here is to ask “when can I leave (life)?”). When considering evil, the advice is to avoid it (except how does that help someone suffering injustice?). The cover is also misleading - it implies Japan yet there’s no specifically Japanese culture referenced and one of the sayings uses dollars not yen.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read this book as a pre-release e-book obtained through NetGalley, provided by the publisher.

A wild-haired hermit gets many people throughout a town following him, as he gives his words of wisdom.

Quick read. There are some great and succinct pieces of philosophy - some so short and simple they could go on a t-shirt or bumper-sticker. These stand alone without the short stories and parables that preced segments of these.

Like any good philosophy book, I agree with some of the items presented, disagree with other thoughts, and others I will have to think about.

3 stars. While these are great - and there are some true gems in this book, and others I will need to reflect on for quite awhile, there are many other books of short philosophical sayings and short stories.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book! This book thoughtfully reflected on topics that are sometimes hard to digest. The eloquent story telling and heavy emphasis on the wisdom of the Hermit created a story line that is worth reading. The author has a way with words like no other book I have read. The books set up was easy to follow and the breakups of the topics allowed for there to be time to digest the information in between topics. This book made me feel like a child again, listening to my mom read a book and feeling so curious about what life will be like. For anyone who is looking for a book that allows them to reflect on the trials and tribulations of life this book is for you. The eloquence in which it is written is helpful into taking real life experiences and advice in small chunks but also allowing the reader to reflect on the Hermits advice and how they can adapt and reflect on their life lived so far!