Hana is a teenager determined to escape her hand to mouth existence while living with her often absent mother in a small apartment in a Tokyo suburb. When not at school, she works in a local restaurant saving her earnings. But when one of her mother’s boyfriends steals her savings, she is devastated until she runs into her mother’s friend Kimiko whom she remembers from earlier, who befriended her. Hana moves to another part of Tokyo where Kimiko opens a bar. Although underage, Hana works hard and drinks hard to make a successful life with Kimiko. Hana befriends clients while working, pays the bills and saves the profits. Life is looking up with Kimiko and her living in a small apartment, but everything is about to change.
In the 1850s, Orchid is a concubine to the Emperor Tzu Hsi, but when he dies she is thrust into the position of empress because she is the only concubine/wife to birth a son. She learns to govern with the help of her trusted friend, Yung Lu until her son, Tung Chih, is old enough to become emperor. China has gone through difficult times, it’s lost the first opium war and European and Japanese powers demand China cede control of ports and claim its wealth for themselves.
During the 1900s in East Africa, Sakina has a happy childhood amongst stories her family tell her of their troubled lives in India, the difficulty of travelling by sea from Bombay to Mombasa and the jamat’s help when they first arrived. It is a detailed historical experience of Asians coming to East African told though the eyes of young Sakina. But when she marries, leaving her loved ones far behind, the only comfort she has from her nagging mother-in-law and constant housework, is Maasai beadwork.
This is the second time I’ve read this book. I could smell the dust and feel the vastness of the landscape through the experiences of Sakina travelling in Kenya early last century. In particular, I loved the beautiful meaning behind the beadwork explained by the old Maasai to Sakina.
In the days of the Samurai in ancient Japan, Bunshiro and his friends, Ippei and Yonosuke have a carefree childhood, but when Bunshiro’s father is accused of treason and forced to commit suicide, Bunshiro becomes head of the family and forced to take responsibility. While his two friends remain faithful, others shun him. Now in reduced circumstances, he puts all his effort into practising his fighting skill with bamboo swords.
While this story is about Bunshiro, it is an interesting look into past Japan, how government practices were carried out and at the same time, intrigue as those hungry for power, plot.
Read and Write 
You must be logged in to post a comment.