Cutting Back
My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto
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Narrated by:
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Caroline McLaughlin
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By:
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Leslie Buck
About this listen
At 35, Leslie Buck made an impulsive decision to put her personal life on hold to pursue her passion. Leaving behind a full life of friends, love, and professional security, she became the first American woman to learn pruning from one of the most storied landscaping companies in Kyoto. Cutting Back recounts Buck's bold journey and the revelations she has along the way. During her apprenticeship in Japan, she learns that the best Kyoto gardens look so natural they appear untouched by human hands, even though her crew spends hours meticulously cleaning every pebble in the streams. She is taught how to bring nature's essence into a garden scene, how to design with native plants, and how to subtly direct a visitor through a landscape. But she learns the most important lessons from her fellow gardeners: how to balance strength with grace, seriousness with humor, and technique with heart.
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- By Jocelyne Ramos on 04-23-19
By: Robin Sharma
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The Garden of Evening Mists
- By: Tan Twan Eng
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp.
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The best
- By Susan Gardner Bowers on 03-11-13
By: Tan Twan Eng
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The Serpents Trail
- A Maxie and Stretch Mystery Series
- By: Sue Henry
- Narrated by: Lee Adams
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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At 63, Maxie is cruising down the Alaska Highway in her brand-new Winnebago. She's always been a gypsy at heart, and with her mini-dachshund at her side, and the open road ahead, she's never been happier. But before her exploration of the Lower 48 gets underway, Maxie needs to figure out who burglarized her friend's Colorado home, and why. But the closer Maxie gets to solving the puzzle, the more it becomes chillingly clear that her friend's life isn't the only one on the line.
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Maxie definitely doesn't leap to conclusions
- By Jody on 08-13-06
By: Sue Henry
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Wide-Open World
- How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever
- By: John Marshall
- Narrated by: John Marshall
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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John Marshall had read about the growth of voluntourism, and frankly, it was the only kind of extended trip he could afford. He'd heard that some peoples' lives were changed by a week of overseas service - what might half a year accomplish for his family? His wife, Traca, was all in favor of it; his kids, especially his 14-year-old daughter, were strongly opposed. Wide-Open World is the totally engaging, bluntly honest story of the Marshall family's life-changing adventure.
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I enjoyed every minute
- By Chris on 05-15-15
By: John Marshall
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Whirligig
- By: Paul Fleischman
- Narrated by: Robert Field, Lily Christian, Alex Hauk, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Newbery Medal winner Paul Fleischman writes a profoundly moving story of connectedness and the journey of a young soul to self-discovery. Told through the voices of five characters and narrated by age-appropriate actors, Whirligig compels the listener with its lesson on how our actions can impact the lives of others - even years later. A stunningly authentic listening experience.
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Fabulous
- By Tim on 03-21-17
By: Paul Fleischman
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The Bucolic Plague
- How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
- By: Josh Kilmer-Purcell
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A happy series of accidents and a doughnut-laden escape upstate take Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Brent Ridge, to the doorstep of the magnificent (and fabulously for sale) Beekman Mansion. And so begins their transformation from uptight urbanites into the 200-year-old-mansion-owning Beekman Boys. Suddenly Josh---a full-time New Yorker with a successful advertising career---and Brent find themselves weekend farmers, surrounded by nature's bounty and an eclectic cast.
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Selling your dream and name dropping
- By Mark on 09-13-12
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At Home in the World
- Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
- By: Tsh Oxenreider
- Narrated by: Tsh Oxenreider
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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As Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes from a Blue Bike, chronicles her family's adventure around the world. Seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way, she discovers what it truly means to be at home.
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Having traveled the world as a kid myself.....
- By kmk on 07-31-17
By: Tsh Oxenreider
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The Lost Carousel of Provence
- By: Juliet Blackwell
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Long, lonely years have passed for the crumbling Château Clement, nestled well beyond the rolling lavender fields and popular tourist attractions of Provence. Once a bustling and dignified ancestral estate, now all that remains is the château's gruff, elderly owner and the softly whispered secrets of generations buried and forgotten. But time has a way of exposing history's dark stains, and when American photographer Cady Drake finds herself drawn to the château and its antique carousel, she longs to explore the relic's shadowy origins.
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Loved It!
- By T Heskett on 09-23-18
By: Juliet Blackwell
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The Probable Future
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Women of the Sparrow family have unusual gifts. Elinor can detect falsehood. Her daughter, Jenny, can see people's dreams when they sleep. Granddaughter Stella has a mental window to the future - a future that she might not want to see.
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Nice, gentle story for when you feel bad.
- By Anonymous User on 05-28-17
By: Alice Hoffman
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We Are Unprepared
- By: Meg Little Reilly
- Narrated by: Zach Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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We Are Unprepared is a novel about the next big storm, the one that changes our relationship to nature and each other...the superstorm that threatens to destroy a marriage, a rural Vermont town, and the Eastern Seaboard when it hits. But the destruction begins months earlier, when fear infects people's lives and spreads like a plague.
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A Sociological Almost Post-Apocalyptic Thriller
- By Brian on 12-25-16
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Firefly Beach
- By: Meira Pentermann
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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When Beth LaMonte rents a cottage on the coast of Maine, she wishes only to withdraw and paint. A mysterious ball of light disturbs her peace and leads her to a secret beach where she finds the diary of a girl who disappeared in 1975. Now Beth is on a mission, not only to bury her own past, but to put to rest the spirit of Firefly Beach.
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Summer Beach Read really different
- By L.W. on 06-23-14
By: Meira Pentermann
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Lassoing the Sun
- A Year in America's National Parks
- By: Mark Woods
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Many childhood summers, Mark Woods piled into a station wagon with his parents and two sisters and headed to America's national parks. Mark's most vivid childhood memories are set against a backdrop of mountains, woods, and fireflies in places like Redwood, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks. On the eve of turning 50, and a little burned out, Mark decided to reconnect with the great outdoors. He'd spend a year visiting the national parks.
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great narrator, lackluster story, wonderful themes
- By MT on 08-21-18
By: Mark Woods
What listeners say about Cutting Back
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sparkly
- 04-25-18
Eat Pray Prune
Inspiring! I enjoyed hearing the author's adventures in the art of the Japanese garden. The descriptions of the gardens, some centuries old, and the unique and wonderful Japanese tools, are fantastic. I loved every detail about the workers' routines and procedures. As a matter of fact, I wish there were more technical details. I am not a gardener, but I love a good nonfiction about a complex craft. I probably would have liked more information, and less of the diaristic drama. To be honest, the interior monologue was at times more of what you'd expect from a callow college student than a 35-year old person from a diverse metropolitan city. The low point was probably when the author is seriously competing with (and being unapologetically passive aggressive towards) a teenaged coworker. She is so busy sulking that she misses the moment when he finally gets to prune his first tree - that would have been a great anecdote if she were a bit less self-absorbed.
That said, the author does a very good job of expressing the frustration of trying to fit into a highly stratified, highly segregated culture, coming from the US. I was quite intrigued by her strategies and choices. I am not sure I would have managed without a confrontation in some of those situations. I very much recommend this book if you are interested in adventurous travel, situational humor, gardening, Japan, memoir, or just a good story. (Listen to the sample to see if you like the narrator - I didn't mind except for the brutal slaughter of Japanese pronunciation.)
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- Molly Peacock
- 08-05-17
Cutting Back: The Poetry of Pruning is a Delight
Where does Cutting Back rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Top 10%. Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto is a delicious memoir. Both the delicacy of pruning and the necessary fearlessness of the pruner are the contradictions at the heart of the arborist's life--and at he heart of Leslie Buck’s book. It gave me so much to think about! The whole concept of pruning and shaping is very much like a poet's method of revising. The delicate hierarchy of the world of Japanese gardening men was beautifully described. Buck’s friendships with these men were tender and complex. Her frustrations, her youthful stubbornness, the hesitating boldness with which she made the leap to Japan in the first place, all unfolded with zest. Although there is a placidity in arbor work, the book had the quality always of leaving me wondering and wanting more--ever leading me to the next chapter.
Have you listened to any of Caroline McLaughlin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I very much liked the way Caroline McLaughlin narrated the book, a casual American voice in formal Japanese apprenticeship.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-14-21
Great insight into Japanese culture
Informative and reflective, with a constant sense of "what happens next?", I'll be playing this book again immediately to extract even more details. Had to slow it down as the fast paced narration seemed the antithesis of Japanese garden vibes. Highly recommend.
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- jess
- 10-21-17
A Beautiful Journey!
Leslie Buck's account of her apprenticeship in Japan fascinated and challenged me. Her vision to live and work in another country, and to be trained in a discipline in which she was already accomplished, took humility, grace and courage. This narrative captured me. Leslie, like one of her trees, was nurtured, shaped, and at times shocked by the pruning of her personal journey. In Cutting Back she applies the principles of pruning to her own life which is the mark of a disciple, and shares them with us, which is the mark of a teacher. This book is an immersion in another culture and an account of personal relationships
that frame this very intimate story. If other cultures interest you, you will be fascinated by this book. If you hunger for a story of personal growth and persevering through adversity, read Cutting Back. If you are a gardener and want insights on the art of pruning in the Japanese tradition, you will be enriched. I just loved this story!!!!!!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Maxwell Gjeltema
- 03-26-18
A stumbling reading of a beautiful story.
This story is deep and honest with its readers, giving us insight into Leslie’s insecurities, struggles, successes, and her shifting view on many things as she worked among the Japanese Craftsmen. I ate up her small technical side notes and learned not-a-few things from her memoir.
The worst part was the staccato feeling of the narrator’s telling. It didn’t flow very well and I felt that I couldn’t relax easily while listening to this book.
All-in-all, a lovely story and worth the listen despite the rough reading.
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- Dragonfly Samurai
- 04-07-18
This should have been an easy book for me to enjoy
Any additional comments?
This should have been an easy book for me to enjoy. I am really interested in Japanese culture. I enjoy gardening. This should have been a win/win situation. However I really struggled with the narrator Caroline McLaughlin. I stopped listening to the book about 40 mins in or so because the narration was not very good. Pros: she has a good voice. Con: She needs to work on her style of narration. The way she talked made me feel like a newscaster was reading the story. That's the best way I can explain it. I totally understand that narration is difficult, and I hope she improves as she hones her skill.
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4 people found this helpful