Heather Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 (edited) Product details Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd (5 Feb 2004) Language English ISBN-10: 0099441586 ISBN-13: 978-0099441588 Product Description Amazon.co.uk Review Cloud of Sparrows slings an impressive amount of full-blooded plot material at us along with an intelligent weighing out of historical fact. Young Lord Genji is a samurai whose blood feuds with the Shogun go back centuries--his family have predictive powers that have shown him that his future lies in forming alliances with the incoming Americans. Emily is a young missionary who considers Japan to be a place where her looks will be considered hideous and she will be free of male attention; Heiko is the most beautiful geisha of her generation, and also a ninja assassin who has fallen in love with her prospective victim, Genji. And Stark is a gunslinger posing as missionary who has come to Japan to find a man he has sworn to kill. The strength of all this lies, in part, in the fact that both sets of characters are as exotic to us as they are to each other--Takashi Matsuoka is wittily smart about how much things change in a century and a half. He also writes brilliantly and excitingly when describing a scene of battle, a gun or sword duel. THe above information came from Amazon. My Thoughts Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka. Matsuoka, born in Japan but raised in the US, subtly unfolds a story that can be read on various levels, revealing the similarities and differences between two cultures without taking the side of either. The Nook is divided into six parts, each part has a title and each chapeter has a title. There is a list of charaters which gives their names and what they do.Set in 1 January 1861 european time the Japanese New Year being a few days later. Although being a novel the book to me is also a history book telling you about the Japanese way of life and how they react to people from other country's. I enjoyed this book very much and found it to be an excellent read. An immensely worthwhile first novel and I would love to read another novel by the author. Edited May 25, 2009 by Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Heather...that's a beautiful name you have there. Do you share the flower's characteristics as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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