Stephen, a young Chinese man who has been ill, goes in 1937 to his family's summer house in Tarumi, a Japanese seaside village, to recover. He meets Matsu, the caretaker, a quiet man who tends the garden, and gets to know a woman named Sachi, who lives in the hills, and her story of leprosy. Gail Tsukiyama sets the book against the background of the Japanese invasion of China and the growing war. Stephen reflects on friendship, beauty and loss, and on what the garden teaches him as the seasons turn.
It is a calm and reflective novel for readers who like quiet, character-focused fiction about Japan. Gardeners and those who like gentle stories of friendship will find it appealing.
Contemplative and thought-provoking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1995
- Language
- EN
