Synopses & Reviews
Book II of the internationally bestselling phenomenon Tales of the Otori trilogy,
Grass for His Pillow returns us to a mythical, medieval Japan, in a story of clashing powers, divided loyalties, and passionate love played out on a dazzling landscape.
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, one of Book magazine's best novels of the year, and one of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books for High School Readers (2002), Across the Nightingale Floor was an international bestseller and critical success, named "the most compelling novel to have been published this year" by the Times (London). In this second tale, we return to the land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances where we first met Takeo the young orphan taken up by the Otori Lord and now a closely held member of the Tribe and his beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Maruyama and alone in the world, who must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited.
In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate young love. Yet Takeo and Kaede, drawing on their unusual talents and hidden strengths, must make their way in this tale of longing, ambition, and intrigue. Grass for His Pillow is a tantalizing next installment in a brilliantly imaginative and critically acclaimed series.
Review
"Hearn shows that middle novels of trilogies don't have to simply fill space between an exciting opening and conclusion." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[E]ngaging, but less than essential, reading. A bridge between battles, not likely to thrill Nightingale fans, though it may garner new readers on its own merits." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Rather than the adventure and intrigue of the previous title, Grass focuses more on the internal transformations of Takeo and Kaede....The wealth of detail in the pseudo-Japanese setting helps ground the story." School Library Journal
Synopsis
Book II of the internationally bestselling phenomenon Tales of the Otori trilogy, Grass for His Pillow returns us to a mythical, medieval Japan, in a story of clashing powers, divided loyalties, and passionate love played out on a dazzling landscape.
Synopsis
The spellbinding second installment of the internationally bestselling Tales of the Otori trilogy transports us once again to a mythical, medieval Japan, in a story of clashing powers, divided loyalties, and passionate love.
Synopsis
Praised for its epic scope and descriptive detail, Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series, was an international bestseller and critical success, named by the London Times as "the most compelling novel to have been published this year." With Grass for His Pillow, Book Two, we return to the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's creationa land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances.
In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate young love. The orphan Takeo has been condemned to work as an assassinan enforced occupation that his father sacrificed his own life to escape. Meanwhile, Takeos beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Murayama and alone in the world, must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited, as she fights off the advances of would-be suitors and hopes against fading hope that Takeo will return to her...
About the Author
Lian Hearn is the pseudonym for the writer Gillian Rubinstein, currently living in Australia, who has a lifelong interest in Japan, has lived there, and speaks Japanese. All five books in the Tales of the Otori seriesAcross the Nightingale Floor, Grass for His Pillow, Brilliance of the Moon, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, and Heaven's Net is Wideare available now from Riverhead Books.