Aloha from abroad! You are in the heart of bon dance season so we think this is a fitting time to feature “The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai” by author Barbara Lazar. Her book was one of our top
Aloha from abroad! You are in the heart of bon dance season so we think this is a fitting time to feature “The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai” by author Barbara Lazar. Her book was one of our top sellers during book signings at our store.
The first time Barbara did a book signing in our bookstore, her books had not come in on time. Barbara persevered, met with the customers anyway and, after talking with her about her book, they prepaid for the book and she signed a bookplate for them. Not bad when an author can sell a book sight unseen! We add that a book is always a winner in our eyes when both men and women are equally interested, as they were in her book.
This historical tale is an action-packed “Memoirs of a Geisha” meets Clive Cussler. In the rich, dazzling, brutal world that is 12th century Japan, we are taken to feudal Japan where Kozaisho is sold to provide for her family and enters the larger world of strategy and intrigue, tradition and death. It is a suspenseful story of love, sacrifice and honor. Marked out by an auspicious omen, she is trained in the arts of the samurai. But it is through the power of storytelling that she learns to fight her fate, twisting her life onto a path even she could not have imagined.
With stunning precision, the narrative evokes the beauty and clarity of the art and culture of Japan at that time, with Kozaisho’s tales woven in bringing a fable-like quality to the story. It is a well-researched historical novel with characters that are real and a story that is compelling. May this story add to the richness of what bon season is all about!
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Ed and Cynthia Justus are owners of The Bookstore in Hanapepe.
