frizzbee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
weemargaret's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thunguyen's review against another edition
2.0
Because every time when I gave a book 3 star, goodreads thought I like that book, so this time, to make it clear, I'm gonna give this 2 stars only.
I admit I totally bought this book because of its cover. And what a fool I was! Instead of a nice, romantic story, I've got a boring story about historical Japanese war. Back then I didn't know Lian Hearn and her cold, cold way of killing characters without the blink of an eye. Totally too dark compared to the cover art.
And the romance in this book makes me flinch every time I think about it. I just don't like this book at all. This was years before I read Across the nightingale floor, but I don't think I will change my mind.
I admit I totally bought this book because of its cover. And what a fool I was! Instead of a nice, romantic story, I've got a boring story about historical Japanese war. Back then I didn't know Lian Hearn and her cold, cold way of killing characters without the blink of an eye. Totally too dark compared to the cover art.
And the romance in this book makes me flinch every time I think about it. I just don't like this book at all. This was years before I read Across the nightingale floor, but I don't think I will change my mind.
jonathanbutlerauthor's review against another edition
3.0
I am a huge fan of the Otori series ([b:Across the Nightingale Floor|77160|Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, #1)|Lian Hearn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347954422s/77160.jpg|161332]), as i think Hearn can portray characters and create an engaging plot extremely well. The era and locations were not pin pointed, but were obviously set in Japan. This enriched and supported the novels perfectly.
Blossoms and Shadows also had good character development and dramatic climaxes, but was weighed down by the historical elements. In one of the early chapters, Hearn describes ALL of the main characters in a confusing array of names. These characters continue to reappear throughout the novel, even occasionally referred to by nick name, with Hearn assuming the reader will recall them. It took me the entire novel to recognise half of the key players.
The problem is that the history isn't THAT interesting. The basic gist of the political storyline is that a group of progressive men are challenging the conservative government of Japan. This doesn't change much throughout the entire novel, but Hearn insists on reiterating this fact. The novel builds up to the final battles, which are told in third person and after the event, which is unfortunate as the drama was lost.
As previously mentioned however, I throughly enjoyed the principal characters and story elements. Characters from friends, teachers, lovers, family, children or fleeting encounters all are distinct and interesting. Hearn has clipped her indulgent descriptions of the scenery with Blossoms and Shadows (as compared to the Otori Series), only including descriptions if they were integral to the plot. Hearn cleverly communicates what Western culture may of looked like through the eyes of ancient Japan, convincing the reader of the fascination with photography or a gun. Hearn's comments on gender equality, western influences, medicine and dip into a taboo territory keeps the novel moving.
Overall it was a good summer read, with interesting gender/sex/society comments, character development and dramatic climaxes but unfortunately weighed down by historical content.
Blossoms and Shadows also had good character development and dramatic climaxes, but was weighed down by the historical elements. In one of the early chapters, Hearn describes ALL of the main characters in a confusing array of names. These characters continue to reappear throughout the novel, even occasionally referred to by nick name, with Hearn assuming the reader will recall them. It took me the entire novel to recognise half of the key players.
The problem is that the history isn't THAT interesting. The basic gist of the political storyline is that a group of progressive men are challenging the conservative government of Japan. This doesn't change much throughout the entire novel, but Hearn insists on reiterating this fact. The novel builds up to the final battles, which are told in third person and after the event, which is unfortunate as the drama was lost.
As previously mentioned however, I throughly enjoyed the principal characters and story elements. Characters from friends, teachers, lovers, family, children or fleeting encounters all are distinct and interesting. Hearn has clipped her indulgent descriptions of the scenery with Blossoms and Shadows (as compared to the Otori Series), only including descriptions if they were integral to the plot. Hearn cleverly communicates what Western culture may of looked like through the eyes of ancient Japan, convincing the reader of the fascination with photography or a gun. Hearn's comments on gender equality, western influences, medicine and dip into a taboo territory keeps the novel moving.
Overall it was a good summer read, with interesting gender/sex/society comments, character development and dramatic climaxes but unfortunately weighed down by historical content.
20megs's review against another edition
1.0
Never actually finished it. It was just too dull. There wasn't much happening and I really did try to like it. After 2 years I have finally given up.
ladywrenalot's review against another edition
3.0
I would have liked a slightly different ending, but liked it apart from that (so 3 stars not 4). I was also hoping for a fangirl link-in to the excellent Otori series.
Again set at the time of the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the story revolves around the younger daughter of a village doctor, who dreams of living as an equal to men - disguising herself to be taken seriously. We follow her adventures into strange and ever-changing cities, and those of the people she becomes friends with along the way. Although purely a work of fiction, some of the characters are real historical people, woven into the tale in an interesting way.
I didn't find the story particularly hard to follow, as the change in writing style is marked at the start of the relevant chapters, and I was expecting it.
Again set at the time of the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the story revolves around the younger daughter of a village doctor, who dreams of living as an equal to men - disguising herself to be taken seriously. We follow her adventures into strange and ever-changing cities, and those of the people she becomes friends with along the way. Although purely a work of fiction, some of the characters are real historical people, woven into the tale in an interesting way.
I didn't find the story particularly hard to follow, as the change in writing style is marked at the start of the relevant chapters, and I was expecting it.
librarylassamj's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed some of this fictional account of the background to the Meiji Restoration and the fall of the Shogunate, but I tended to get a bit lost in some of the detail Their were so many characters, it was difficult to keep a track on who was who and I think sometimes Lian Hearn didn't quite know what to do with the characters or where the plot was headed. At times it reads like a very dry textbook. Interesting though and her knowledge of Japanese history seems very thorough. I preferred he Tales of the Otori series, set in Feudal Japan, much more.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘Everyone knew that change was coming, but no-one knew what form it would take or what the world would be like afterwards.’
This novel is set in Japan, in the final years (1857-67) of the Tokugawa regime. This was a turbulent period (immediately before the Meiji Restoration of 1868) when Japan’s feudal society was under pressure both internally (as a consequence of famine, epidemic and feudal wars) and externally (from nations of the west).
The novel opens in 1857, and involves both fictional and historical characters. Our narrator is the fictional Tsuru, a young woman who is a member of a doctor’s family. Because doctors were generally an exception to the rigid class structures then in place, Tsuru had more opportunities to observe and participate in events than would usually have been the case for a woman. This makes her an interesting narrator of the events that unfold.
‘These are the men my story is about. It is they who broke down the old world and reformed the nation I now live in, with their dreams and delusions, their courage and stupidity, their unexpected successes and their painful failures.’
We first meet Tsuru on the day of her sister’s wedding, and it quickly becomes clear that Tsuru sees a different role for herself: one that is not in any sense traditional. Tsuru dreams of practising medicine, as an equal, alongside her father and then her husband. Tsuru’s story is interesting, but it is the story of Japan at this time that most held my interest.
There is a lot of historical detail in this novel and, for me at least, the characters became secondary to the events. This made reading the novel a bit of a challenge at times: there are a lot of different characters involved and it wasn’t always easy to remember where each one fitted into the narrative.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This novel is set in Japan, in the final years (1857-67) of the Tokugawa regime. This was a turbulent period (immediately before the Meiji Restoration of 1868) when Japan’s feudal society was under pressure both internally (as a consequence of famine, epidemic and feudal wars) and externally (from nations of the west).
The novel opens in 1857, and involves both fictional and historical characters. Our narrator is the fictional Tsuru, a young woman who is a member of a doctor’s family. Because doctors were generally an exception to the rigid class structures then in place, Tsuru had more opportunities to observe and participate in events than would usually have been the case for a woman. This makes her an interesting narrator of the events that unfold.
‘These are the men my story is about. It is they who broke down the old world and reformed the nation I now live in, with their dreams and delusions, their courage and stupidity, their unexpected successes and their painful failures.’
We first meet Tsuru on the day of her sister’s wedding, and it quickly becomes clear that Tsuru sees a different role for herself: one that is not in any sense traditional. Tsuru dreams of practising medicine, as an equal, alongside her father and then her husband. Tsuru’s story is interesting, but it is the story of Japan at this time that most held my interest.
There is a lot of historical detail in this novel and, for me at least, the characters became secondary to the events. This made reading the novel a bit of a challenge at times: there are a lot of different characters involved and it wasn’t always easy to remember where each one fitted into the narrative.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
alih's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0