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Publisher:
Macmillan |
Release
Date: September 2003 |
ISBN:
1405005823 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Hardback |
Buy
it at Amazon US
|| UK |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Historical Fantasy [Feudal Japan] |
Reviewed:
2003 |
Reviewer:
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewer
Notes: A book for Teen and Young Adults, as well. |
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Grass
For His Pillow
By Lian
Hearn
Lian
Hearn's first novel in the series Across The Nightingale Floor
(also reviewed on this site) won the author many accolades. Now
Takeo and Kaede are back and have the unenviable task of trying
to live their lives apart and put right many wrongs. Takeo has turned
his back on his new role as adopted heir to Lord Otori Shigeru and
instead tries to embrace his arcane powers and live with The Tribe.
But he is going to find that this may not the answer he seeks. Meanwhile,
Kaede is the heiress to a large estate but goes home to find that
things are not as she remembered, and of course she has no husband.
In a man's world she is doomed to become a pawn of the great warlords
unless she can become one herself
This is more akin to Laura Joh Rowland
than Tolkein and you don't have to like fantasy to enjoy this thrilling
series. Apart from the magic powers of The Tribe, this reads much
like a historical novel about feudal Japan. The middle volume of
a trilogy usually treads water a bit and it is true that no earth-shattering
events happen in here but instead we have the characters growing
up and discovering more about themselves and their roles in a harsh
society. This is a series that is aimed primarily at young people
and I can imagine many teenagers enjoying such a thought-provoking
tale. Takeo has to choose between a role dictated by his powers
and another which he was trained for from his adoption and Kaede
must choose between a traditional female role and a stronger one
which her dependents need her to take on. All this is set in the
lush world of mediaeval Japan and details are sketched in speedily
but to great effect, like the lines of a haiku. Many authors would
need a lot more than Hearn's modest 300 pages to get all this in,
but by the end, although I was eager for more, I felt that what
I had read had left me satisfied as to the depth and breadth of
its content. I look forward to reading Brilliance of the Moon and
also to whatever Hearn has planned next.
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