This second volume in the Otori trilogy commences at the point where book 1 left off. Faced with an ultimatum from the Tribe, his biological father's people, to either join them and finish his training with them, renouncing his inheritance from his adoptive father Otori Shigeru, or else be killed, Takeo has to go with them. (Takeo's adoption into the Otori clan is later declared illegal by the self serving uncles who arranged for Shigeru's murder in any case). He then endures privations and punishments to make him comply, but it is clear that some of those among the Tribe resent his gifts and his possible supplanting of themselves in his Tribe family's hierarchy so are working their own agendas.

Left behind, Shirakawa Kaede has major problems of her own, finding her mother has died and her father has more or less suffered a breakdown after being unable to stop warriors travelling through his land enroute to the fighting which now has broken out between lord Arai and the former supporters of the dead warlord Iida Sadamu. Her father still has loyalties to the opponents of Lord Arai although Arai now expects Kaede to ally herself to him. The house and grounds are in poor order, as are the lands around, thanks to a combination of natural disasters and the ongoing fighting. A local lord then develops a fascination with Kaede: he is known to prefer men, but wants to 'collect' her and add her to his collection, something which would entail her having to marry him - which she is under pressure to do - and then being more or less sequestered for the rest of her life. Despite this she manages to convince her father to start teaching her - giving her a son's education as she only knows the script used by women - so that she can understand the estate accounts and know everything she needs in order to take over management of the estate which he has neglected for a long time. She also tries to protect her sisters.

The obstacles in the way of Kaede and Takeo ever marrying seem insurmountable, and political events are escalating. Only with allies can Kaede take the inheritance of the richer lands that her dead kinswoman intended she should have and can she and Takeo gain the resources they need as a power base.

In a lot of ways this is a typical middle book in a trilogy. It takes the characters forward in their personal timelines and development but not a great deal happens plotwise. Some of the things set up at the start of the book do not pan out as expected for instance, Kaede miscarries the child she conceived when she and Takeo made love on the night of Iida's death, thinking they would not survive. There are ominious indications of future threats as well as the immediate ones. The fantasy version of medieval Japan is again beautifully evoked with the very different attitudes, compared to Western ones, to honour, suicide and religion.

For me, the ending was a bit rushed and didn't quite gell with what has been developed up to now - the two main characters act out of a more Western style viewpoint than the one their culture would dictate. So I can only give this a 4 star rating. ( )

I enjoyed the two storylines of this book as they ran alongside each other. There's some great world-building going on as Hearn illustrates the rules of this society, revealing things about clans and the Tribe and all that. I found both of the protagonists stories to be equally compelling and they kept my interest, and I was so pleased with how strong Kaede was turning out to be. But then the romance came back into it and everything fell apart. It would be different if it was at least believable, but for me it was not at all. It's not just stupid kids and their impulses - it's lazy writing. Their characters, particularly Kaede's, completely dissolve for the sake of this improbable connection.

I enjoyed the middle of this book the best, but the beginning and the end are both soaked in the soppy, unrealistic, romance of two teenagers that should have far more important things on their mind than banging.

There's also some teasing that the author does that I find very frustrating as a reader. As we follow Takeo's story, there are constant references made to the fact that this is a story being told in the future. It's told from first person and the narrator often says "I would later learn . . ." or "I would come to understand . . ." It wasn't a problem the first reference or two, but after that it became exhausting and frustrating. This is also confusing when we jump to Kaede, as her story is told from third person and is devoid of these remarks.

I'm really waffling between two and three stars on this, but I truly was enjoying the book until the last two chapters so I will let it stand with three. ( )

After the emotional events of the first book, the two lovers in this Japanese Shogunate-ish fantasy are split up. He's on the road and she must defend her new position as the head of her household. Winter is coming, indeed, in this tragic -- and beautiful -- setting.

Tone and setting are where this book shines, but the main characters have really grown into their own even if their situations are rather horrible. Or you know their situations are only going to get REALLY bad soon, anyway. :)

These ARE tragedies. Tearjerker tragedies.

And damn... I hate to say this, but all these old-time Japanese are just THUGS. Murderous brigands pretending to be honorable. Just... wow. ( )

Tales of the Otori

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84 points, 4 ¼ stars

Quote:

“Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this either by prayers or spells.”

Review:
Grass for His Pillow is a bit of a middle child. The Tales of the Otori series was originally planned as a trilogy. It moved a bit past that. So the events in this book were planned ahead of time, and nothing really happened.

The majority of this book featured recovery from the events in the previous book and planning for the events in the next book. A prophecy is introduced, centered around the main character Takeo. It outlines what is going to happen in the next few books. So this book doesn't have a lot that happens for the sake of it happening in this book. It feels slow, and it feels like it is going nowhere. Yet it feels intriguing while it does it.

Even more than the previous book, Grass for His Pillow is steeped in Japanese culture and history. There is just more of it than before. And it tells the beginning of a time of a massive shift in the country's history. This really is the strongest part of the series.

Yet it is also about the empowerment of women in a man's world. Kaede is just as much a main character as Takeo is. They split the narration between their stories. She may even be more important in this book than the rest of the series. Kaede is fighting against the traditions that hold women back. She is fighting to become respected as a person, because women are thought of more as commodities to own.

I liked it. I thought it was better written than the first, even. I just thought more could have been done to make this book feel like its own book. I'm enjoying the series. ( )