Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori 2) [Paperback]

Lian Hearn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0330412736 | ISBN-13: 978-0330412735 | Publication Date: April 2, 2004 | Edition: 2nd

In the ancient Oriental lands of the Otori, amidst a time of violent war, famine and treacherous alliances, the fate of the young lovers Otori Takeo and Shirakawa Kaede hangs in the balance...Takeo, heir to the great Otori clan, has pledged his life to the secret Tribe. His supernatural skills of virtual invisibility and acute hearing make him their most deadly assassin. But he must deny the solemn oath of vengeance he made, his adopted birthright of wealth, land and power - and his love for Kaede. If he does not devote himself entirely to the brutal ways of the Tribe, they will kill him. Whichever path he choose, it will lead to hardship and sacrifice in the bitter winter of the high mountains, and test him to the limits of his being. Kaede, heiress to vast lands, is now the valuable pawn of ruthless warlords. She must use her intelligence, beauty and cunning to assert her place in a world of all-powerful men - who must never suspect the dangerous secret she hides. 'The beauty, savagery and strangeness of Hearn's gripping tale is heightened by her exquisite, crystalline prose. The second installment in the "Tales of the Otori" is, astonishingly, even better than "Across the Nightingale Floor"' - "Independent on Sunday".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lian Hearn's second novel in the Tales of the Otori, Grass For His Pillow continues to enrich and expand his mystical imaginings of feudal Japan. Picking up where Across the Nightingale Floor left off, Takeo fulfills his debt of honor and accepts his heritage as a member of the superhuman cabal of assassins known as "The Tribe," and is thus ingested into their plots. But his heart yearns for Kaede, his one true love, and secretly wishes to fulfill the final wishes of his adopted father, Otori Shigaru. Meanwhile, Kaede returns to her homeland to find her father's estate in ruin and her inheritance in jeopardy. The two each encounter vast political machinations and deadly consequences as they unconsciously move toward their overwhelming urges to reunite and defy (or perhaps embrace) fate.

Hearn's second book into the Tales of the Otori series is a more poignant tale than the first, painfully examining the lines between honor, duty, and love. With its calming and satisfying conclusion, the landscape of Hearn's mythical vision of Japan braces for a dazzling storm in the book to come. --Jeremy Pugh --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The pseudonymous Hearn's second thrilling installment of her Tales of the Otori trilogy (after 2002's Across the Nightingale Floor) is once again set in a magic-haunted version of medieval Japan where no one wields unchallenged authority and no one is safe. The swirl of treacherous, shifting clan alliances threatens to overwhelm young lovers and aristocrats Takeo and Kaede. Separated throughout most of the action, the two must develop their talents while trying to maintain their integrity. Takeo possesses superhuman gifts such as the ability to become invisible, project a double image of himself and hear distant conversations; however, he must discipline his skills and control his impetuous temper. He also must work out his relationship with the Tribe, a treacherous secret organization of spies and assassins that saved his life but that may have murdered his father. Kaede, meanwhile, has to escape the powerless role of a woman if she is to protect herself and her family domain from predatory neighbors. Adept at creating vivid natural settings where the supernatural feels unusually plausible, Hearn catches fresh details of trees, birds, rivers and mountains. With quick, direct sentences like brushstrokes on a Japanese scroll, she suggests vast and mysterious landscapes full of both menace and wonder. Hearn shows that middle novels of trilogies don't have to simply fill space between an exciting opening and conclusion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 2nd edition (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330412736
• ISBN-13: 978-0330412735
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,420,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Epic adventures continue, September 6, 2003

By 

Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2) (Hardcover)

GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW by Lian Hearn

The second book in a series called TALES OF THE OTORI by Lian Hearn, GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW continues the story of young Takeo (Tomasu) and his adventures among the clans of a fictional ancient Japan. This world that Hearn creates is filled with a touch of fantasy, as special people known as The Tribe populate the land, with the ability to do "magical" things such as disappear, or split oneself into two persons. Takeo learns in the first book, ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR, that he is part of The Tribe, through a father he does not remember. Raised among the people called "The Hidden", Takeo has learned of a more gentle way of life by a people who believe in a new god, while The Tribe teaches him to kill and destroy.

GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW begins with Lady Kaede, a young woman betrothed to Takeo's adoptive father Lord Shigeru of the Otori, one of many powerful lords among the clans. Kaede, however, loves Takeo, but in this second book she is now on her own with her lady-in-waiting Shizuka, who is also part of The Tribe. Kaede is no longer with Takeo or Lord Shigeru, and she must now find a way to fend for her life and help her sisters survive in this dangerous world they live in. Her father, Lord Shirakawa, is very old and weak, and he is the only protection she has from the other powerful men in the land who will try take away all that she has come to love, including her sisters. Kaede, with the help of Shizuka, learns how to defend herself and learn the skills that traditionally belong to a man, because she knows that she can no longer trust anyone else, and she will certainly not trust a man again. Her only love Takeo has been taken away and she does not even know whether he is alive.

Takeo is also unaware of what has become of Kaede. He has been captured by The Tribe, and will eventually become one of them, as is his birthright. Takeo has no desire to be with them, however, but is bound to them by heritage and a promise he made in ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR. He also knows that if he tries to escape, they will kill him.

But escape he does, and Takeo is now on the run for his life. His goal is to return to Lord Shigeru's people, The Otori, with the hopes that they will accept him as Shigeru's heir.

Takeo and Kaede live day by day, yearning for each other and never knowing whether they will see tomorrow. Their struggles and adventures are comparable to a cross between CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The Tales of the Otori are written on an epic scale, and the conclusion will finally reveal whether Takeo and Lady Kaede's futures will be as one.

GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW is an adventure epic that is beautifully written and researched thoroughly by Ms Hearn. Although this second installment of the Tales of the Otori is recommended, I found it was not as good as the first book. I found something lacking in this second one, but it does not mean I will not follow up with the third book. It is still worth the read, and anyone that has read the first book should definitely read this one. One thing I did note was that GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW is a stand-alone book. Hearn left enough information in this second book to fully explain what happened in the first. Any new reader to this series will not feel lost if starting this series with GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW. This reader gives GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW 4 stars.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but..., October 3, 2003

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I thought this suffered a little from "middle of the trilogy" syndrome. Dramatic events occurred in the first book, along with the introduction of many interesting characters. Here we seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern while everyone catches his breath and waits for the finale.

Part of it was due to the overall intended atmosphere of the book. It is winter and everything slows to a halt--with only plans being made for when the snow clears and major campaigns can now be fought. Part is due to the mysterious Tribe--Takeo is amongst them, but only interacts with a few lower-members, whose relationships with him don't change much. And surprisingly little is revealed about them--save that what we have guessed or learned from the first book. I wanted a bit more of a climatic arc to be had with that part of the story, but it was not to be.

However, the world remains beautifully, even sublimely rendered. And there is that subtle tension that underlies the events, which pulls the reader along. I greatly enjoyed the first book and am content with this, the second book, and wait eagerly for the conclusion to this compelling tale.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but lacking in depth, August 19, 2004

By 

Inchoatus.com "Inchoatus.com" (Greeley, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, Book 2) (Hardcover)

WHO SHOULD READ:

This is a no-brainer. People who really liked Across the Nightingale Floor will rush to this book and rightly so. Despite our mediocre rating, there's nothing wrong with this book and nothing embarrassing about liking it. There is an undeniable beauty to the prose and the storyline is satisfying enough. While it's not Great Literature it is certainly engaging and just as certainly a very brisk read. Despite some very adult moments, precocious readers ages 11-16, we feel, will particularly like this book and the others in the trilogy. Japanophiles will also like this book though we feel they'll have more fun pointing out inconsistencies with the "real Japan" once they find out that Hearn is actually named Rubinstein and was born in England. Those readers looking for succinct beauty should go buy--it can be dusted off in a weekend.

WHO SHOULD PASS:

Just as certainly, potential readers need to read its predecessor and be very prepared to purchase the final book. There is absolutely no closure here and if you want a self-contained story, go somewhere else. The book is at once both intensely introspective and romantic--these are the dominant themes and if you're not looking for that kind of material, then pass. No super action here! though there is a bit of martial arts. Adults who can get annoyed with books that may be said to overly celebrate youth will likely be pretty annoyed by this book and should pass.

READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM