Product Description

The daughter of a samurai never weeps. But Takiko, whose warrior father was killed in battle, finds this a hard rule, especially when her mother remarries a strange and ugly country potter. To get away from her miserable home, Takiko eagerly accepts a position at the imperial Japanese court. There, her beauty and nightingale voice captivate the handsome young warrior, Hideo -- who also turns out to be an enemy spy. As war breaks out, Takiko flees the court and is forced to choose between loyalty to her people and her love for Hideo. She painfully learns that whatever choice she makes, she cannot run away from her samurai honor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #214152 in Books
• Published on: 1989-02-15
• Released on: 1989-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780064402828
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A colorful and romantic story of feudal Japan. Unusual andstirring." -- -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A dramatic story, rich in emotion and in historical detail." -- -- The Horn Book

About the Author
Katherine Paterson is one of the world's most renowned children's book authors. Ms. Paterson has received the National Book Award twice and has won the Newbery Medal for both Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved. She is also the author of two other I Can Read Books featuring Marvin, The Smallest Cow in the World and Marvin's Best Christmas Present Ever. Ms. Paterson lives in Barre, Vermont.

Customer Reviews

pretty good, i guess, but not outstanding....
~This story is set in Japan during the Heiji War (also called the Gempei War) between the Heike and Genji clans. Takiko is an adolescent Japanese girl born to a noble samurai, Moriyuki. When Moriyuki dies in a battle, Takiko's mother, Chieko, decides to marry an ugly country potter named Goro to support herself and her daughter. While living in Goro's household, a visiting merchant decides to take Takiko to the Emperor's court to serve Princess Aoi. There, Takiko falls in love with a handsome~~ young enemy warrior named Hideo.
The rest of the book describes how Takiko has to choose between her lover and her family, and how she learns that beauty is not everything.
I thought this book was pretty good, because the characters were defined fairly well, and the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading. But I think that this book isn't exciting enough. I don't mean that there isn't enough action, but the plot isn't the kind that keeps people on the edge of their seats. A little more~~ background information on the Heiji War would be nice, too.
The one thing that I liked a lot about this book was its twist ending. I really wasn't expecting that!~

Not terrible, but not the author's best
Let's be upfront here. I don't know a darned thing about imperial Japan in the 12th century. So I really don't know if author Katherine Paterson meticulously studied the history and language properly. And I don't know if this book is the very essence and spirit of all things Japanese. All that I know is what I read in this book. A portrait of a spoiled samurai's daughter, "Of Nightingales That Weep" traces her journey from potter's field to palace to exile with Japan's royal family.

The book doesn't begin particularly well. The kid who wants to read this book has first to stumble through a page describing the correct pronunciation of Japanese names and, following that, a long section dedicated to the historical figures presented in the book. Kids reading this must wade through sentences like, "This intense rivalry came to its first climax during the Hogen Insurrection (1156-1159), which found the two clans supporting opposing elements within the Imperial household". I myself had more than a little difficulty getting through this section, and I'm 25. When at last, however, I stumbled through I finally got to the story itself. I can't help but wonder if the Historical Note containing this information wouldn't have been better suited to exist at the end of the story. That way, kids wouldn't immediately be put off by a complicated set of rivalries and battles of which they do not care, yet. Once they've read the story, the notes would serve to give a little background. And you really don't need these notes to read the book. I read the notes first and I couldn't keep track of what was going on anyway. Lord help the ten-year-old who does the same.

The story itself is interesting. Protagonist Takiko is proud but also given a strong point of view. Readers will sympathize with her, even as she displays disgusting shows of self-interest. Her callous rejection of her step-father, her dismissal of all servants, etc. Takiko eventually finds herself supporting the royal family and fleeing with them from angry warlords. As she does, she finds herself falling in love with the enemy... a man as vain as herself. Paterson adeptly draws you to Takiko's point of view, but it's difficult not to despise her when her own wants overwhelm the needs of her family. In the end, the moral of the story is a bit askew. As far as I can tell it boils down to, "Be good or eventually you'll have to bear the child of your deformed step-father". Oog.

Sex and death opponents, beware. Though sex is never described in much detail (the most we get are suggestive poems about bird's nests and scenes that end right before the supposed act) but there are a couple moments where Takiko understands that she's being hit on (at fifteen) and must either lure the man on or find ways to break it off. And the violence is a little less harrowing that the sheer amount of death. Boy oh boy do a lot of people die in this puppy!

I love Katherine Paterson. I loved "The Great Gilly Hopkins" and "Road to Terebithia". I like her style and the pace she takes with her books. Quite frankly, however, I can't whole-heartedly recommend this one. Though it does give a new look at life within imperial Japan, the way in which it is written is not going to necessarily interest the kiddie set. Read it if it really interests you. You may like it quite a lot. But in the end its just a nice story set in an interesting place in uninteresting ways.

Riches to rags story
I'm a fan of Katherine Paterson, so I was eager to read this book. It was a colorful, emotional tale about Takiko, a samurai's daughter in feudal Japan. Since it was wartime, she had to move from place to place (including a palace) to escape the adversary. On the way, she met a handsome young enemy warrior named Hideo and they fell in love. Would she choose loyalty to her dead father's cause or to forbidden romance? The choice she made affected her entire life. I wanted to love the story, but it was too tragic. Many of Takiko's loved ones died throughout the course of the novel. Hideo abandoned her, as did her beauty and wealth. However, it's a tribute to Mrs. Paterson's skill that a fictional story could arouse so much feeling in me. However, the ironic ending confused me. Why did the events turn out the way they did? Still, I reccomend this book for its vivid descriptions of feudal Japan and its skill in plucking one's heartstrings.