![]() But it still doesn’t make it any more interesting to read. Historically speaking, a woman’s station was pretty limited in feudal Japan, and I get that. As soon as this romance was introduced to the plot, Kaede started to became a doe-eyed damsel-in-distress. Kaede swooned and took a fever the moment she saw Takeo for the first time. Takeo and Kaede’s relationship was instantaneous. I was so let down by this part of the book. Initially, I thought I was going to love Kaede her inner dialogue was charged with hate towards her captives and she constantly questioned a world where men were in charge. She is a political prisoner and has been since she was seven years old. His conflicting loyalties – to his adoptive father, to the Hidden, to a mysterious and ancient family called The Tribe – are perfect fodder for lots of tension-filled and action-packed chapters.Ĭonversely, Kaede is a fifteen-year-old girl, and the way she thinks and talks reflects that. Takeo is snatched from death’s claws by Iida’s archenemy, Lord Shigeru, and is subsequently adopted by him. ![]() His story begins when his whole village is burned to the ground because of their “dangerous” beliefs, beliefs that have been outlawed by the fearsome warlord, Iida. Takeo is a member of the Hidden, a group of religious people who worship a forbidden god. This novel is told from the perspective of two teenagers: Takeo and Kaede. Now back to Across the Nightingale Floor. They are set in a Japan-that-is-not-Japan. Yes, I realize both books are classified as history-inspired fantasy, and not as historical fiction. The Japan depicted by Ahdieh feels fake and one-dimensional to me, a person who is extremely familiar with this country and its culture. The Flame in the Mist, published just last year, was a huge disappointment to me for the very reasons I think that Nightingale Floor succeeds: the characters think and feel in a very American way. While reading this book, another that is also set in an alternate feudal Japan came to mind: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh. How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time? Hearn captures the very mind and heart of the Japanese people. It’s also the way the characters think and act and react that is Japanese. It’s not just the setting of the novel that is Japanese. Hearn doesn’t just throw in a reference to cherry blossoms or mention a woman in a kimono and call it good – no, she goes beyond that. ninjō), a highly popular motif in Japanese literature. It explores traditional themes, the most prominent being duty vs. It draws inspiration from Japanese literary classics, such as The Tale of the Heike and The Pillow Book. ![]() And let me tell you, this book demonstrates that same understanding.Īcross the Nightingale Floor blew me away with how well it captured the essence of Japan, and its knowledge concerning the Japanese psyche. Goodreads | Amazon US | Book Depository My ThoughtsĪs somebody who has lived in Japan for over three years, has studied the Japanese language for more than ten, and who is familiar with Japanese literature from various historic periods, I think I can safely say that I have a pretty good understanding of Japanese culture. And, with this knowledge, he embarks on a journey that will lead him across the famed nightingale floor-and to his own unimaginable destiny… Under the tutelage of Shigeru, he learns that he too possesses the skills of the Tribe. When Takeo’s village is pillaged, he is rescued and adopted by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the Tribe, an ancient network of families with extraordinary, preternatural skills. The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. ![]() ![]() Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |