The Walking Man: Expanded Edition

A collection of short, mostly wordless graphic stories about walking in the rain, lying down beneath a blossoming cherry tree, returning a sea shell to the beach? You might dismiss them as boring & a waste of time ... but you'd be wrong. In fact, the point they make is about the time we DO waste, living & working & hurrying about so quickly that we miss out on the ordinary but utterly magical moments of life.Our nameless salaryman goes out of his way to walk, often nowhere in particular, observing & enjoying the world around him. A decision to deviate from a usual path leads him through a narrow alley, breaking routine & becoming an adventure. Every story is about those ephemeral but deeply moving grace notes all around us, if we'd only stop to see them & drink them in.And the connections he makes aren't only with Nature. Several stories are about brief encounters with people on the street -- an old man who allows our hero to follow along, sensing a kindred spirit ... a woman returning to the cherry tree of her childhood, so that she can sprawl in its fallen blossoms once more ... children who've lost a toy airplane in the branches of a tree.Our "hero," did I say? Yes, the most mundane acts of everyday life can indeed be heroic, opening wondrous new vistas, if approached with the proper attitude. There's a sense of openness here, a willingness to accept whatever comes next, a relaxed yet focused awareness of the world -- in a way, reading these stories feels like meditation.And the art is beautiful, with clean, simple lines that often become rich (but never cluttered) detail. Taniguchi knows how to use empty spaces & silence to convey a wealth of feeling. The reader can return to these stories over & over again, drawing a renewed & quiet strength from them each time. Most highly recommended!Note: if you once bought the earlier edition of this wonderful book, don't hesitate to update it with this expanded edition. Everything that I've written about that earlier edition applies even more so to this one.

A classic that left me a bit wanting. Nice drawing line, good representation of suburban Japan but the characters lack depth.

Before saying anything about the stories, I want to point out that the art in "The Walking Man" is delightful. Jiro Taniguchi's style is typical of many Japanese comic artists: it's clean, attractive, and usually easy to figure out.The book is a collection of short stories, perhaps eight to twelve pages long. In them, a young, married Japanese man wanders about his city. In each story, the man finds some Zen-like joy in his quiet life, which must be easy when his wife stays home preparing meals and worrying about him. He breaks into a courtyard and enjoys flirting with a girl, despite being married. He climbs up a tree and enjoys the view. He picks up a shell and takes it to a beach. He breaks into a swimming pool and swims nude. In one very distasteful story, he even flirts with schoolgirls.There is dialogue and text, but it is scant. When it is present, it feels interruptive because it takes away from these quiet, pretty pictures.Taniguchi, I suppose, is trying to encourage readers to be impulsive and enjoy the simple pleasures around them. Unfortunately, each little story is just a conveyance of the previous one. They all run together because they make the same repetitive point.Perhaps I read the book incorrectly. My guess is that Taniguchi doesn't want us to consider life behind this young man. We're not supposed to be critical of him, but rather enjoy the his little moments with him.

Can’t go wrong with it. Great, wholesome short stories with very little words. A reminder to appreciate the small things.