Be Specific About Books To The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2)
| Original Title: | The Last Concubine |
| ISBN: | 0593057538 (ISBN13: 9780593057537) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Shogun Quartet #2 |
| Characters: | Sachi, Tokugawa Iemochi, Shinzaemon, Daisuke Totoyama |
Lesley Downer
Hardcover | Pages: 480 pages Rating: 3.84 | 2792 Users | 178 Reviews
Itemize Of Books The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2)
| Title | : | The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2) |
| Author | : | Lesley Downer |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 480 pages |
| Published | : | February 11th 2008 by Bantam Press (first published 2008) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. Japan. Fiction. Romance. Literature. Asian Literature. Historical Romance |
Interpretation As Books The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2)
How do you fall in love when your society has no word for it? "The Last Concubine" is an epic love story closely based on historical events, chronicling 19th century Japan's extraordinary change from a medieval to a modern country. This is the story of a shogun, a princess and the three thousand women of the women's palace - all of whom really existed - and of the civil war that brought their way of life to an end ...Japan, 1865: the women's palace in the great city of Edo is a sprawling complex much like a middle-eastern harem.Bristling with intrigue and erotic rivalries, the palace is home to three thousand women and only one man - the young shogun. Sachi, a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl, is chosen as his concubine. But Japan is changing. Black Ships have arrived from the West, bringing foreigners eager to add Japan to their colonial empires. As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life. Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her; but this is a world in which private passions have no place and there is not even a word for 'love'. Before she dare dream of a life with him, Sachi must unravel the mystery of her own origins - a mystery that encompasses a wrong so terrible that it threatens to destroy her ...From the timeless beauty of the Women's Palace in Edo to bloody battles fought outside its walls, "The Last Concubine" is an epic evocation of a country in revolution, and of a young woman's quest to find out who she really is. HideRating Of Books The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2)
Ratings: 3.84 From 2792 Users | 178 ReviewsNotice Of Books The Last Concubine (The Shogun Quartet #2)
I wanted to give three stars (or even more) to this novel but halfway through it turned so hard for me to keep reading that I cant do it. It started pretty well, with pages full of delicate nature metaphors and descriptions about places that quickly dragged me into it -plus Sachis observations (naïve at first, more mature while growing) were mainly credible and interesting til certain point-, but suddenly, after reading quite a lot, I found myself having trouble comprehending the biggest role inWhile Japan is teetering on the edge of civil war, Sachi becomes concubine to the last shogun of Edo (Tokyo) but her life is soon to change when the old ways are swept away forever. Sachi flees from the castle where she has lived a pampered life and finds herself on the run with her trusted friend Taki. As traditional values break down, the roads are a treacherous place to be and Sachi soon finds herself in danger. She is rescued by a young ronin warrior with whom she soon falls in love but the
Book ReviewTitle: The Last ConcubineAuthor: Lesley DownerGenre: Historical/Cultural/Romance/WarRating: *****Review: After finishing The Last Concubine I came across a (spoiler-filled) video in which Lesley Downer, the author, likens her novel to a Gone With The Wind set in Japan. The parallel is awkward, not to say unfortunate. Beyond the surface similarities a 19th-century civil war, destruction of a way of life, and a heroine-centric narrative any real comparison is disadvantageous for The
I wanted to like this book so bad but in the end it was only "OK". Sachi lacked depth, as well as many of the other characters and I never really cared about them. Downer shows that she has studied the history of Japan thoroughly and the history is good but the fiction story is not. The whole thing about Sachi being a concubine's bastard child wasn't necessary and neither was Edwards who was portraited as being the greatest man of all (at least in my opinion). Sachi was a little to quick to like
I absolutely loved this book.A story about the old traditional ways of Japan.Will be looking out for anything else she has written.Just looked on Fantastic Fiction and this is her first Fiction book.Hopefully it's not to long till she writes the 2nd.
A riveting and enjoyable read. It provide a glimpse into court life during a tumultuous time in Japanese history. The characters are believable and, as a result, their struggles and hardships moved me as the reader.
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