Nonni in Japan: Around the World at 80 Years Old!

Nonni in Japan: Around the World at 80 Years Old!

Jon Svensson was born in Iceland and is the only Jesuit priest from that island at the top of the world. After a career in teaching and ministry, he became one of the world's best loved authors by writing his series of "Nonni" books. For anyone else, such a life would seem full yet, even at age 80, he still held in his heart a boyhood dream to travel around the world and meet all of God's people. Here, for the first time in English, is the incredible true story that proves that life does not end, but really begins, at 80! "Nonni in Japan" features the second part of the great Icelandic children's writer Jon Svensson's journey around the world first begun in "Nonni in America." It is a charming and informative read which also examines the deeper topics of America and Japan on the eve of war amidst Nonni's journey of peace and understanding. Jon Svensson was fulfilling a lifelong dream to visit Japan and bring a message of peace and understanding that was very much wrapped up in his own vocation which began with an admiration of the great Jesuit missionary to Japan Saint Francis Xavier. No matter how interesting the deeper drama, one must always remember that Jon Svensson was one of the most popular writers of his day because of his great descriptive talents and storytelling abilities which are on full display here. (large print with rare period photos of the actual journey). "Everyone dreams of visiting a country, and for Icelandic author Jon Svensson, who is often called "Nonni," his "dream country" to visit was Japan. He was fascinated by Japan as a boy and learned everything he could about it as he grew up. It is when he is in his elderly years that he finally makes that dream come true, and his book, "Nonni in Japan," is about his adventurous sailing trip to Japan, as well as his many experiences there. When I started reading this book, I thought it was set in the present day. However, it was when I was reading about how Nonni shared his birth information with a passenger on the ship that I realized this story took place in the mid-1930s. Once I realized this, I was filled with a sense of dread, because I know Japan attacked the U.S. in 1941, and because of this, mostly everything in Japan has changed since then. Realizing this information, it was difficult for me to appreciate the Japanese culture in the same way that Nonni did, because he was seeing Japan as someone unaware of what lay ahead. I had a sense of foreboding during the time the ship he was on docked in Hawaii, and the Japanese military would not allow him to take notes or pictures of certain locations on the island. This only made me wonder if they were already plotting the attack at that time. ... There are many times in the book where Nonni says that his visit to Japan was a lifelong dream of his and how he was so happy that his dream finally came true. That he was finally in Japan. I noted how he was 80 years old and also how, later in the book, it is noted by an anonymous source that Nonni later became ill and passed away before he could complete the writing of his book. After I learned of this, I was sad that he could not see his work to completion. However, the anonymous source(s) culled together all of his notes and made the best effort to put them into print, all at the last part of the book. These notes are about his other travels. He was able to see his dream to the end, but not write more fully about the last part of it or see all of his work published. I mention his age for a reason here, though: The visit to Japan was what Nonni wanted for a very long time. I had to wonder why it did not happen sooner, before he was 80. Did he not try to make his dream to visit Japan come true sooner in his life? Or was his aging a reminder that he better try to work on a dream that kept being put on the back burner because he would not have much more time to make it come true? Nevertheless, it is a reminder of how very fleeting life is. If there's one thing I took away from my reading of this book, it is this very important reminder: we cannot keep putting our dreams on hold. If you have a dream, then do what you can to make it come true. Don't wait until you are too old to do it or have very little time left to do it. "Nonni in Japan" was an interesting look at life in Japan when citizens had no cares about the tragedies of war that lay ahead. It is a book filled with historical information I found valuable to read. Here was Japan pre-WWII and reading about one visitor's experiences in this country was a pleasant experience." - ReaderViews READER VIEWS MEDALIST WINNER 2021-2022 Silver Medal: Memoir Category Bronze Medal: Travel Categoty