Synopses & Reviews
From the best-selling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes a story about a woman's journey to discover the father she never knew and a love she never thought possible.
Rose is called to Kyoto for the reading of her estranged father's will. Once there, she encounters acquaintances of her father — including a potter and poet, an old lady friend, his housekeeper and chauffeur, and Paul, her guide through Kyoto.
As the reading of the will gets closer, through her encounters and peregrinations in Kyoto, Rose reaches a poignant understanding of her father's love and an acceptance of loss.
Review
"This plaintive novel impresses with its smoothness." — Publishers Weekly
Review
"With elegant and careful prose, [Barbery] offers descriptions of Kyoto and Japanese culture that transcend the genre of a travelogue. This novel will appeal to readers who long for happy endings and escape." — Library Journal
Review
"[A Single Rose] is interspersed with aphoristic Japanese tales from various periods, as melancholy is gradually transmuted into joy." — The New Yorker
About the Author
Muriel Barbery's novels include is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Europa, 2008), and Gourmet Rhapsody, published by Europa Editions in 2009. She is also the author of The Writer's Cats, illustrated by Maria Guitart, a short tale about esthetics, inspiration, the writing life, and cats. Barbery has lived in Kyoto, Amsterdam, and Paris, and now lives in the French countryside.
Alison Anderson's translations for Europa Editions include novels by Sélim Nassib, Amélie Nothomb, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. She is the translator of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Europa, 2008) and The Life of Elves (Europa, 2016) by Muriel Barbery.