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Grass For His Pillow: Tales of Otori, Book Two |  |
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Grass For His Pillow: Tales of Otori, Book Two | |
Hearn''s second book into the Tales of the Otori series is a more poignant tale than the first, painfully examining the lines between honor, duty, and love. With its calming and satisfying conclusion, the landscape of Hearn''s mythical vision of Japan braces for a dazzling storm in the book to come. --Jeremy Pugh --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Hearn''s second thrilling installment of her Tales of the Otori trilogy (after 2002''s Across the Nightingale Floor) is once again set in a magic-haunted version of medieval Japan where no one wields unchallenged authority and no one is safe. The swirl of treacherous, shifting clan alliances threatens to overwhelm young lovers and aristocrats Takeo and Kaede. Separated throughout most of the action, the two must develop their talents while trying to maintain their integrity. Takeo possesses superhuman gifts such as the ability to become invisible, project a double image of himself and hear distant conversations; however, he must discipline his skills and control his impetuous temper. He also must work out his relationship with the Tribe, a treacherous secret organization of spies and assassins that saved his life but that may have murdered his father. Kaede, meanwhile, has to escape the powerless role of a woman if she is to protect herself and her family domain from predatory neighbors. Adept at creating vivid natural settings where the supernatural feels unusually plausible, Hearn catches fresh details of trees, birds, rivers and mountains. With quick, direct sentences like brushstrokes on a Japanese scroll, she suggests vast and mysterious landscapes full of both menace and wonder. Hearn shows that middle novels of trilogies don''t have to simply fill space between an exciting opening and conclusion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Familiarity with Across the Nightingale Floor (Riverhead, 2002) is important to understanding this story, as Hearn gives no recap of events in that book. Takeo abandons his adopted family, the Otori, to be trained by the Tribe. He learns more about this mysterious clan and about his origins, including the secrets behind his father''s conception and death. In the end, he must decide if he will remain true to the ruthless, amoral Tribe or follow his heart and avenge Otori Shigeru. Shirakawa Kaede also faces difficult choices. She resists the path tradition demands of her, and seizes opportunities and education usually only granted to males. She is determined to claim her inheritance and remain faithful to Takeo, no matter the cost. The novel suffers from middle-book syndrome in that just as the action starts to get exciting, readers are told to wait for book three. Rather than the adventure and intrigue of the previous title, Grass focuses more on the internal transformations of Takeo and Kaede during the winter of their separation. The wealth of detail in the pseudo-Japanese setting helps ground the story. Purchase where the first book is popular.
Susan Salpini, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From AudioFile
A delicately wrought and beautiful tale of love, betrayal, honor, and hierarchy is shot through with mysticism and mystery, "Grass" is a rare find. Kevin Gray''s nuanced performance as the wayward Lord Tokeo, fallen upon hard times in his search for fulfillment, really saves the day as Aiko Nakasone''s plodding performance quickly becomes tedious. The choice to contrast the male with the female is a good one, but the director failed to fully do his job, scoring a winning performance with Gray while allowing Nakasone to sound as if she were reading to small children. A worthy and somewhat hypnotic listen, nonetheless, finely written. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
From Booklist
The second installment in the Otori trilogy, set in ancient Japan, picks up where Across the Nightingale Floor [BKL Ag 02] left off, with Otori Takeo leaving his love, Shirakawa Kaede, to join his ancestral tribe. The tribe, a stealthy group possessing mysterious powers, wants Takeo to devote his life to them, and he feels honor bound to do so. Kaede is heartbroken but understands that he needs to do his duty just as she needs to stake her claim on the inheritance her aunt left her. On her way back to her father''s home, she discovers she is carrying Takeo''s child, and she must perpetuate the rumor that she was secretly wed to Takeo''s adopted father, Shigeru, shortly before his death. Meanwhile, Takeo is trying to conform to the tribe''s rules and hone his powers, which include the ability to make himself invisible. In the second Otori book, Hearn maintains the epic scale of the first, and adds depth to the exotic world his characters inhabit. A prophecy and a surprising revelation towards the end of the novel set the stage for the third book. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
New York Times Book Review
A welcome sequel to the deliciously readable Across the Nightingale Floor
Review
A welcome sequel to the deliciously readable Across the Nightingale Floor (New York Times Book Review)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As exciting a debut as any in recent years - part Shogun, part Lord of the Flies and entirely enchanting. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
New York Times, September 14, 2003
...a welcome sequel to the deliciously readable Across the Nightingale Floor... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
