a wonderful story of family histories and ghosts, set in Japan
937621
Picking Bones from Ash is a wonderful story, containing mysteries and ghosts, ancient Buddhas and modern Japan, antiques and backpacking travellers.  The story begins with Satomi, a spunky girl with a talent for music.  Raised by her single mother, she isn't easily accepted in small town Japan.  When her mother remarries, she feels abandoned.  Not long after, she sets off to Paris to study music. There, she meets an intriguing westerner - Timothy Snowden.  She becomes wrapped up in his life and eventually finds herself more at home in the West than the East.  Later the story continues with her daughter, Rumi, who has a talent for reading objects - specifically Asian antiques - and makes a living in San Francisco as an antique dealer.  One day she travels to Japan to seek her mother. The two womens' stories entwine and reflect one another.

The description of this book doesn't do it justice.  I left this for last of all my reviews, and it turned out much more interesting than I expected.  The sharp contrast between Part One and Part Two really took me by surprise and bothered me at the time - it felt so abrupt.  But it was necessary to create a mystery. The author tied it all together by the end.

I can give this book no higher praise than saying that I gave up sleep to read it.  You see, I have been reading while I feed my son during the night.  Usually we are up three times a night.  Reasonably, I should only read while he eats and then go back to bed.  Instead, I would find myself continuing to read this book, while my son dreams away on my chest.
1983424
Fascinating multi-generational story of a Korean family in Japan during the 20th century. The characters and situations illustrate the pain and struggle of the poverty of war made worse by endemic racism. This historic fiction novel sheds light on the complicated relationship between the Koreans and Japanese throughout several generations. A page turner that will make you stay up way too late.
495255
As a person who loves genealogy - that's why I bought this book - because it sounded so fascinating. Researching ones ancestors is a great deal of fun. You learn about history and so many things. I did enjoy reading about Julia and learning all about her family and life. I knew nothing about that part of America where Julia and her husband settled, which was quite interesting to learn about. Full of details and captivating scenes - this book is not boring at all.

This is a true story and one that is pretty amazing as well. It takes you from Europe to the South-West and back again. The author did a great job of investigating all matters of these people's lives. She truly did all the leg work by going to each location. This keeps the book's flow going and it moves right along in a seamless manner.

The only thing I didn't agree with - was her 'conclusions' about certain events. She put her own focus of reality onto these people. First at the beginning she was sure of this or that fact only to find out she was wrong. Later on she uses psychics and other methods of trying to learn about Julia and her family. I don't mind psychics at all. However, I don't think you can 'assume' they are always correct.

However, since this is her very own relative and it's her book - she, as the author, has every right to put forth her own ideas and assumptions whether they are right or wrong. As a genealogist - you must rely strictly to facts that have proof on documents. As a person who is just trying to learn about her family - you don't have to rely only on documents or proof. There is room for speculation and/or conjecture in just story telling.

Basically - if you like true stories about real people from the past - I don't see why you wouldn't like this book. It does take you on a journey and ends up with results that were unknown & unexpected. I think Julia would be proud of her descendant for caring enough to do all the research and asking the hard questions.

Hopefully this is one ghost who can now be at peace and who can move on to where-ever ghosts go to.
4757059
As others have mentioned, this is a long book (500 pages) spanning the lives of Korean family who move to Japan before WWII.  There are many sad events in the book, but each one reflects the cost to the family members because of their Korean ancestry.  I never realized before that there is no love lost between the Koreans and the Japanese, and that Japan still treats people who move to Japan like second class citizens (and it is very difficult to become a Japanese citizen!)  The book does not reflect well upon Japan and their lack of inclusiveness to people who had no Japanese ancestry.  Characters are well-defined, and Lee uses descriptive details to paint a picture of the despair and loneliness suffered by many of the main characters.  The book also depicts the lowly status of women in Japanese society and how they are taken advantage of.  I didn't give it 5 stars because the story dragged in spots, but would definitely recommend it, especially for book club reading choice.
419985
Surrounded by accurate historial events and people, the fictional title character Robert Milligan careens through adventures and misadventures in a Japanese society that has been unchanged for over 200 years.  As a wet-behind-the-ears diplomat, he encounters villains, conspiracies, thefts, slow-motion chases across Japan, an angry father, seductive ninjas, naval bombardments--and a lot more.

I am definitely interested in reading more by this author!
4093509
This isn't so much a story about how families are torn by war, or how racially mixed immigrants struggle to fit in, as much as it is about the plight of a kid whose parents don't even seem to deserve to be parents.

 It is November 1975, in Japan, and a man named Hideo Takagawa is uneasy about a letter from a young Helen Johnson in America, who identifies Takagawa as her mom's uncle.  Helen tells her Uncle that her mom is sick and asks if she could visit him in Japan. Hideo remembers Helen's mom named Anna, but only as a baby. He is queasy. This letter opens up wounds from the past.

Then the narration switches to Helen. We are held captive by her innocence,candor, and worries. Helen tells us about things that are very abnormal at home about her Mom and Dad. "What is wrong with this family?" readers think with alarm. Be prepared to turn the pages quickly. What worse things might happen?

When narration switches back to Hideo, we learn about the suffering of Hideo's sister named Ume, who is Anna's mother and Helen's maternal grandmother.  We cling to Hideo's stories of his silky Asian childhood dominated by callous males and we watch as his mostly loveless family unravels during and after World War II.

The story fast-forwards to Helen and now we really simmer at the actions of the adults in her life. Helen learns remarkable new things about her mom's and dad's past.  She wants to know more because she hopes she can help Mom.

 Author Taniguchi's language is both poetic and convincing. The narrators seem authentic and believable.  As Helen's thoughts race with impulsive questions and her feelings shift between anger and hope, readers forget their surroundings and think like a girl.  Likewise Hideo's sad language of lost honor seems immediate as he tells the dark stories of the Hiroshima horrors.

Readers hope for a hero. We read and hope as narrators alternate and we learn more details. This is a must -finish story. You may not always forgive, but you will not put the book down.
1842876
Great story and adventure of an American trying to find himself in Japan. Really opened my eyes to the cultural differences and the different attitudes and perspective of the Japanese. I absolutely loved reading about that, and the author wrote about it so beautifully. After reading several particular paragraphs, I remember thinking to myself, "I can't believe that the author just so clearly conveyed such a complex, foreign cultural idea in one short paragraph - incredible."

I would give it five stars, except that it contained too much about his sexual experiences. I felt that to include so many experiences, and in such detail, wasn't necessary. I would much rather have read about other experiences the author had while there.

Overview it was excellent. The author combined his powerful storytelling ability with his own wonderful stories.
3479656
A beautiful tale of a daughter learning of her mother's life before she was born, her mother's friends and their daughters, and her Chinese heritage.  The women tell stories of lives once lived in a far away land, remembrances of their youth, some hard times but also wonderful memories.  She begins to search for something lost that her mother never found, a wish, and wants to help finish her mother's story.  A wonderful read.
3216429
Japan, 1994, Ren Ishida is finishing up his graduate studies in Tokyo when he learns that his older sister, Keiko has been murdered and that there are no suspects.  Since Keiko was estranged from their parents, Ren heads to the fictional town of Akakawa to claim his sister's remains and personal effects.  He soon finds himself, desperate to find out more information about his sister's personal life in the years since she left home.  Ren takes a room, the very room, where his sister had stayed and even gets a teaching job, her vacated teaching job, at the university where she worked.

A thought provoking, compulsively readable, debut novel with style reminiscent of Haruki Murakami. The writing is beautiful, part mystery with bits of magical realism, but never too far over the top for my taste.  The imagery created by this talented new author was an unexpected treat.

Rating - 5/5 - loved it
3494411
The two most important aspects about Sarah Birds novel Above the East China Sea consist of family and traditions.  These elements comprise of the central themes of the story that invoke much emotion and a special inner sanctum for each of the main characters of the novel Kokuba Tamiko and Luz James.  For readers that are familiar with Birds works, she does indeed follow the adage that some times literature mirrors the life of the writer, and she is not afraid to admit to that sentiment.  The story has bits of childhood experience as an Air Force military brat, her father was stationed at the United States military installation at Kaneda base in Okinawa, a prefecture of Japan during the 1960s.  She weaves the experiences of growing up on the island within her stories as, which she had done in her previous novel the Yokota Officers Club.  For this novel the experiences are translated through the characters and sisters Luz and Codie that lived in San Antonio, Texas but grew up in Okinawa.

Bird cleverly writes a deeply intimate story that combines a historical and semi-autobiographical backdrop that resonates with Tamiko and Luz.  Although years and histories apart, 1945 versus the 21st century, the young women share a common bond linked with their family and culture that they religiously embrace.  Upon reading the first chapter of the novel and subsequent selections, there already appears a hint of what the storyline of the novel presents to the reader; an emotionally charged story filled with challenges that require the reader a sense of empathy towards the characters.  Tamiko and Luz have to confront loss, Tamiko to sister Hatsuko and Luz to Codie.  Codie served in the US Army and died during the Afghan War while Hatsuko was a young schoolgirl that attended along with her sister the elite school of Princess Lily Girls during World War II.  When the broke out, the students as well as civilians of Okinawa were sent to labor facilities and under the watchful eyes of the imperial military separated from their family members, and at times, conditions were undesirable and abusive.  Near the end of the war, devastation and the war experience greatly affected Tamiko and Hatsuko, especially when the battle at Okinawa struck the island that historians have compared even more catastrophic than what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Imagine and combine the lives lost and the casualties of over 100,000 that left a lasting affect on survivors that were on the island and vacated caves in the interim before the war ended.  One wonders what may have happened to the sisters during these horrific days and months before Japan surrendered and the aftermath.  Bird tells of the gripping experiences and the key factors that helped Tamiko and Luz confront their dilemmas, their unconditional relationship and embrace to their cultural tradition in the form of their strong spirituality to spirits known as the kami that originates with Japans indigenous religion of Shinto.  This element also transcended into Luz and Codies part of the storyline that added an aura of ephemeral proportions to the novel.

With the most intriguing and fascinating stories, by the time readers reach the concluding chapters, there always contains surprises and twists that may amaze the reader.  For this book, it may take the last 100 pages to see how the story begins to come full circle.  And as one understands the traditions that the people of Japan and Okinawa have practiced and observed for thousands of years, one may see that regardless of the what appears separate due to place and time, what radiates after reading the story of Tamiko and Luz  kindred spirits.
2087129
Anyone who's ever wanted to visit Japan, or any other country should read this.  It gave me the chance to view a completely different country through eyes similar to my own.  Everything was new, strange, sometimes frightening, and exciting, and the reader learns right along with him.  The writing sucked me in from page one.  The descriptions paint a colorful scene that lets you see and experience his journey instead of just telling the reader about them.  It's easy to feel like you're there.  Nate's personal transformation and revelations-- no matter how small-- are amazing.  May we all be so lucky to experience such a fantastic journey.

p.s. There are many elements that personally take me back home to growing up in a small town, so I kind of found it funny to read about a city boy in the country.  I've found myself missing home a lot while reading this.
4161956
This anthology of 9 ghost stories has a wonderfully old-style feel to it; I'm not sure if it's that the social stratification of Edo-period Japan is reminiscent of Victorian England's class strata or Daniel Huddleston's translation (which doesn't sound particularly Victorian but is very good at keeping the feel of Japanese honorfics). The physicality of the ghosts and oni is definitely evocative of writers like MR James and EF Benson.

Of the stories, the best one is "Cage of Shadows", a first-person narrative (and nunc dimittis) that is moving because of the narrator's sorrow about whether things could have turned out differently-- had he stepped out of station, could he have stopped the tragedy that unfolded? Other stories of note include "When Plum Rains Fall" (the introduction compares it fairly to "The Minister's Black Veil"), "The Futon Storeroom" (a horror story any Marxist would be pleased with!) and "The Mussel Mound" (which reminds me especially of Lafcadio Hearn and has a streak of dark humor).
582049
I read Hugh Ashton's Tales of Old Japanese in one sitting last night. As a fan of the films of Ozu Yasujinro, I have a fondness for stories about a certain generation of Japanese -- those who came out of World War II as adults and experienced the transition in Japanese society to its present peaceful, capitalized, industrialized iteration. Ashton, a 24-year-resident of Japan, knows this generation well and has crafted a novella-length collection of fictional stories inspired by his experience. Some of the stories are more plotted, some more snapshots, but all of them reflect in a thoughtful and stirring fashion the mixture of dignity, humanity, and quirkiness belonging not just to old Japanese, but to the elderly in general. I especially like "Haircuts," in which a 92-year-old man strikes up a friendship with a young divorcee working in a barbershop. I would have been happy for this story to go on a long time and add many layers of complexity.. Also on my list of favorites is "Mrs. Sakamoto's Grouse," in which a older lady becomes stubbornly and financially attached to a dying bird in a small zoo because it is similar to one on the label of a whiskey bottle. What might seem obvious -- older person aware of being near death becomes attached to an animal that is near death -- is done with humanity and subtlety. These two stories would be suitable for me to use in my role as a classroom teacher, as they have complexity, clarity, and interest and deal with universal themes.

All these stories are good. Hugh Ashton, with whom I am slightly acquainted, is mainly known for writing Sherlock Holmes stories -- but if he were to write more like this, I would definitely be pleased to buy it.
2545608
One of the reasons I love Jonelle Patrick's books is their evocation of contemporary Japan -- its pop culture, food and fashion, its religious traditions so different from our own, the complex geography of Tokyo and how its residents move about the city, how members of a family are expected to relate to one another, and all the subtle (and some not-so-subtle) social quirks that only an observant writer and part-time resident of Japan could manage to discern and skillfully weave into her story.

I've grown so fond of the characters I met in Nightshade -- most of them, anyway -- and whose fortunes and misfortunes I followed through the next two books in the series. The wait for for Painted Doll seemed like forever! But now it's here, and it's a very satisfying read indeed.
3178074
Once upon a time in Japan, there was a traditional role for certain women to play in the world of Japanese entertainment.  This job provided women a certain independence from the everyday life of the world, and at the same time, it bound them to the whims of men.  This role was that of a geisha, a woman whose job consisted of entertaining men.
This is the world that 'Memoirs of a Geisha' takes place.  In the years before WWII, a young girl named Chiyo is orphaned and taken into a geisha house (okiya) as a maid.  Years later, Chiyo takes on a new name, Sayuri, and becomes one of the most well-known geisha in Japan.  She falls in love, combats a vindictive and cruel geisha named Hatsumomo, and lives a lifestyle that many of us can hardly imagine.
I thoroughly enjoy reading this book.  I put this in present tense not because I am not finished, but because I have reread this story several times since I was first given this book, and I enjoy it all the more each time I read it.  The allure of Gion, the magic of the geisha, and the vividly colorful characters in the story make this book appealing to all people, of mostly all ages (I received this book last X-mas at fifteen).
Growing up as half-Japanese, I found the book even more interesting as an exotic part of my culture.  By reading 'Memoirs', I was learning more about my Japanese heritage.  Descriptions of the preparations of a geisha, of Sayuri's thoughts and emotions, and her perception of the emotions of others were so realistic, it seemed as if the author had been in the room snapping pictures of everyone's expressions of anger, delight, jealousy, or attraction.
In mentioning attraction, one especially interesting factor in the character Sayuri was her blue-grey eyes.  Probably 98.9% of Japanese people have dark brown eyes, so giving Sayuri the standout quality of having oddly colored eyes made it more interesting to read about how others reacted to her eyes.  Yet had she had blonde hair, I doubt so many would have been impressed as much as they would be horrified!
There is a certain sadness about this story, in that the traditions of the geisha are slipping away, and that the magical world of Gion will soon vanish altogether.  Read 'Memoirs of a Geisha', if not for the sole purpose of learning about a cultural tradition that is unique of Japanese society, and is more in danger than the spotted owl of becoming extinct.
2350837
Haunting, lovely, historic, and beautiful: all words I would use to describe Aislinn Hunter's The World Before Us.

This is the story of Jane Standen, a fifteen year old girl babysitting sweet five year-old Lily, on a hike with Lily's father when suddenly, tragically, Lily goes missing. She is never found.

This is the story of 35 year-old Jane Standen, an archivist at a museum going under due to lack of funding. As this crisis looms, and Lily's father arrives at the museum to accept an award, Jane breaks from her normal life to solve a mystery that has been bothering her since her university days: she wants to learn the name and history of a woman who disappeared over 100 years earlier from an asylum near the woods where Lily disappeared.

After Jane implodes a bit, she takes off to the town near the woods in an attempt to find out what happened to the mysterious woman known only in documents as N. Through personal correspondence and hospital records, Jane traces the past, linking it in a myriad of ways to her present, in an attempt to heal her own wounds.

The story is told beautifully through the ghosts that Jane has collected. They watch Jane, this collection of the dead, doing little else than watching her to learn their own history.

These overlapping and varied storylines could easily have confused, but Hunter does a wonderful job interweaving the stories. With Jane's ghosts as a tool, she shows us how we touch history all the time, how it gets lost and found, how important even the smallest moments are to the bigger stories.

Jane is life is tragic, and at first she is a lost woman mired in her past. The search for N. converges with her own past, and Jane gets a chance to unravel a bit of both mysteries. She gets a little romance, a little closure, and a lot of discovery.

I give The World Before Us just less than four stars. It is beautifully written and weaves all the different stories well. There were a lot of minor characters, but they were never confused in my mind. I wish that a few more questions were answered, but that's what book groups and discussions are all about, right?
4793358
I picked up this book because Ive been intrigued Im afraid to use the word fascinated by this eerie Japanese forest ever since I found out about it. I have also recently seen Grave Halloween, whose horror story also takes place in Aokigahara. So I was more than curious to see what Jeremy Batess take on this would be.

Im glad to say that he delivers.

Under his very talented pen, the forest is real. It weighs heavily upon your shoulders, enveloping you in its silence, in its mysteries, in its feel.

Shadows emerged from their daytime sanctuaries, perverting the trees more than they actually were, turning them into looming monsters out of a sadistic fairytale. Grays became charcoals, and charcoals, blacks. Then night was upon us like a thief, swiftly and silently. If anyone tells you they're not afraid of the dark, thats because they have never spent a night in Aokigahara Jukai.

Under his very talented pen, the characters are real.

Actually, I find he does an amazing job at turning all of his characters into real people. At times, mostly in the beginning, the amount of back story on the characters can seem a bit heavy, but later on it more than serves its purpose. The characters just come out of the page. Their interactions and the dynamics of the group are genuine and relatable.

The pacing is relatively slow in the beginning, but thats because this story is much more than that of a trip gone wrong; its also a deep reflection on that with which we live all our lives death. But this gradual introduction of signs that something is or might go wrong, only deepens the suspense, getting hold of the reader almost unknowingly, making sure that, when the avalanche really starts, the reader too will be caught in it, with no hope of escaping. Throughout the book, Jeremy Bates did a fantastic job at keeping me guessing which way hell go, ghosts or humans. Youll have to read it to see

Horror is not my usual reading choice, but I found that I couldn't put this book down even when it was very late at night and in the silence of the house I kept wondering what that rustling was or if the shadow caught only with the corner of my eye had moved