Synopses & Reviews
The nation's favorite literary farmer pays homage to the life of the senses.
Rushing from one thing to another, we lose sight of the art of living, which for California farmer David Mas Masumoto is also the art of farming. Not fast farming, of the kind that produces fast food, but slow farming, the kind that notices each change of light and temperature and produces peaches with juice that runs down your chin.
On the farm, appreciating the fruits of one's own labor requires all the senses: smell that knows when a peach is ready to be picked; sight that observes the health of a season's crop; touch that measures the weight of a fruit; hearing that recognizes each voice that calls out across the fields; and taste that savors the refreshing tang of a fruit at that perfect moment of ripeness.
Taking us into his fields to witness the cycle of the harvest, Masumoto reminds us that we must stop living on the run in order to savor the world around us. 14 b/w illustrations.
Review
"David Mas Masumoto's gentle and occasionally angry ode to his peaches reminds us that great food does not come from trends or hot new chefs, but from elemental things such as a farmer's love for the land, human dignity, pride in craftsmanship, and a sense of family. It is somehow reassuring to read this lyric little book." Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod and Salt
Review
"If you enjoy good stories, family life, getting the work done, and great, succulent food, Four Seasons in Five Senses is the book for you. David Mas Masumoto is our poet laureate of peaches, the shock of recognition after that first delicious bite, as sweet juice runs down your chin. This is a wonderful book, delectation personified. Enjoy!" William Kittredge, author of The Nature of Generosity and Southwestern Homelands
Review
"Without romanticizing farmwork, Masumoto paints a portrait of the relationships needed to produce a ripe peach and deliver it to a supermarket 3,000 miles away. Even as he inveighs against all the economic disincentives to grow foods with taste, Mas still finds beauty, purpose, and connection in the daily task of raising peaches. We are left aching for the sweetness of real work but knowing its harsh side as well. A peach will never slurp the same." Peter Hoffman, Savoy Restaurant; national chair of Chefs Collaborative
Review
"Masumoto brings me to tears just describing a walk through his orchard. What does he treasure most? The peach, his family memories, or the written word. He treats all three with eloquent compassion. Profound stuff!" Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet
Review
"Because I too farm my small vegetable plot organically, I am always taken with Masumoto's struggle to maintain his hard-won crops organically. But I found the most touching part of his memoir to be the account of his parents' sudden evacuation, postPearl Harbor, to a concentration camp in the Arizona desert. We need such reminders especially today." Maxine Kumin, author of The Long Marriage
Synopsis
In this thoughtful memoir, the nation's favorite literary farmer pays homage to the five senses. Taking readers into his fields to witness the cycle of the harvest, Masumoto reminds that people must stop living on the run in order to savor the world around them. 14 illustrations.
About the Author
David Mas Masumoto is the author of Harvest Son and Epitaph for a Peach. His organic farm is in Del Rey, California.