When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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By good chance, I happened on an Advanced Readers Edition of “The Scent of Sake”. Joyce Lebra has given us the gift of insight into the soul of a family and its culture. The setting in 19th Century Japan is beautifully evoked as we follow the life and growing awareness of the story’s heroine, Rie. The author weaves this tale of intersecting desires, enterprise, and cultural expectations with great subtlety and engaging side plots—worthy of a Jane Austen. Rie’s story is timeless in the sense of the obstacles she meets and manages to overcome. But Lebra is beyond the mere entertainment of Romance in her telling: she manages the story with such skill that it is touching but always realistic, exotically descriptive without the ennui of detail. Most of all, Scent of Sake is fun to read—a cross-cultural treat for the mind and heart.
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The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra
Alan Taddiken, January 14, 2009
By good chance, I happened on an Advanced Readers Edition of “The Scent of Sake”. Joyce Lebra has given us the gift of insight into the soul of a family and its culture. The setting in 19th Century Japan is beautifully evoked as we follow the life and growing awareness of the story’s heroine, Rie. The author weaves this tale of intersecting desires, enterprise, and cultural expectations with great subtlety and engaging side plots—worthy of a Jane Austen. Rie’s story is timeless in the sense of the obstacles she meets and manages to overcome. But Lebra is beyond the mere entertainment of Romance in her telling: she manages the story with such skill that it is touching but always realistic, exotically descriptive without the ennui of detail. Most of all, Scent of Sake is fun to read—a cross-cultural treat for the mind and heart.(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)