Customer Reviews

The Pillow Boy of the Lady Onogoro

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The beauty of this novel is not simply that it arouses thereader with its erotic stories told from behind the screen by the LadyOnoguro's Pillow Boy, but that in each erotic narrative, the Pillow Boy crafts a story for the Lady which illustrates, and ultimately guides her out of her life of dissatisfaction. The more "sadistic" stories are not there to solely titilate, but to illustrate the relationship that the Lady endured with her paramour...the stories were a conduit for liberation, not a shackle of further oppression. To come to the conclusion that the book is without merit because of the content of some of the erotic stories is to miss the point and wholeness of the novel entirely.

This story of a poetic concubine and her relationship to the general has many smaller stories scattered throughout like wonderful little presents. The Lady Onogaro, in order to endure her lover's visits, hires the services of a storyteller to whisper erotic stories in her ear while she makes love to the general. The larger story is also interesting, and told in a beautifully translated language. Lady Onogaro's discovery of what is important transcends time and culture.

Much of the poetry of the Lady Onogaro is also included (more presents), contributing to the pleasure of reading. I found the stories stimulating, and keep a personal favorite marked for special occaisons.

A pleasurable book for those who like their erotica with a dash of exotica.

This is a rare book of erotica that intends to excite the mind as well as the body. One point that the reader from New England misses when she states, "this book survives as a piece of literature resurrected from the past" is that the author has cleverly invented a story under the guise of translating an actual artifact. Successfully, apparently. A careful reading gives the book the credit it deserves.

Despite its salacious premise, this book is gentle, witty, and humane. The different levels of interaction in the underlying story that is the novel's reality work with the different types of stories told by the characters, forming an intricate book full of pleasures

A modern woman's trials through self-doubt toward self-acceptance, clothed in the robes of Heian Japan. The author knows her Japanese mythology. Subtle allusions to ancient tales enhance the narrative. While some of the erotic tales are full of frustration and cruelty, most of them are funny and tender. The fantasies are woman-centered, celebrating women's sexuality in loving detail. A few imagine women's revenge for ill-treatment. And, if you follow the thread of Onogoro's own life between the fantasies, you find the story of so many 20th-century women, trying to let their hearts and talents shine in a world not made for them. Onogoro succeeds. This is a fable of feminine strength.

I picked this book up on a whim at a $1 used book store because I love Heian era women's writings... I was really disappointed. There are a lot of anachronisms and things that shouldn't belong, such as tea (they didn't have tea until much later), shunga (that's Edo period), cheese (certainly not!), the hairstyles (women wore their hair long and loose, that was considered the most attractive and important thing about a woman's looks), and a pet chameleon?! which isn't native to Japan and they certainly didn't have trade with India or a country that it was native to with which to get one... and TEAHOUSES? FLOWER MONEY?? THERE WERE NO GEISHA IN HEIAN PEOPLE. That is a good 500 years later or more! AURGHHHHRGHUH.

So that left me feeling rather unsettled. Plus some of the ladies' names were very badly thought up... I think discussion with someone who's a student of the language could have helped greatly here. In one story a name or a character is spelled two different ways. Editing, folks, editing!

This is what I think happened. The author liked Memoirs of a Geisha. Then the author read the Pillow Book and a few other diaries from Heian era. Then she felt that she should write a romance and try to cleverly disguise it as a historical text with the foreword to get us in the mood. It is more a work of Japanese flavored fantasy than a historical romance, though. The questions and problems the heroine deals with "Did my mother love me?" (oh certainly not, love from parents especially among the upper class? children were raised remotely by nurses and many women had no parental warmth whatsoever and it was considered just fine. Izumi Shikibu's diary sheds a lot of light on this) "Why aren't women equal to men?" are definitely not ones that the ladies of Heian cared about at all... they're modern-day problems applied to a supposedly historical setting.

So disregarding this book as a historical romp, which I had been looking forward to, we must take it as a book to enjoy the romance or titillation, right? Well, I didn't find any of Oyu's supposedly sexy stories very titillating at all. I think they must have been what "does it" for the author, but they didn't "do it" for me. They didn't fit in with what we know as what women of the day liked of their trysts and romances, either, so it must be the author's personal idea of what is sexy or releasing. I can see how she was building the idea that Oyu was trying to guide Onogoro through her psychological hangups and get in touch with herself, but I didn't think that it was all that interesting.

I would have sold my copy, which I paid $1 for at a used book store, but there are so many copies on here for such a little amount that it's not even worth it. Waste of $1. :(

I admit it. I majored in Japanese Literature in college, and I didn't pick up on a single one of the historical inaccuracies mentioned by another reviewer. Why? Because I simply didn't care. I read because I like to lose myself in another world. I don't care if the world isn't historically accurate. As long as the story flows right, and the characters stay true to their natures, and I can see and hear things as vividly as if they were right there in front of me, then I am satisfied that the author was putting her energy into the right things.

This was not a life-changing book, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable one. It is much like reading Sei Shonagon, only a little more tongue-in-cheek, a little dirtier. I love the way the story is told from various points of view, so that each character is shown to have their own bits of humanity. Feeling trapped, feeling love, making mistakes when judging others-- all these things are universal, regardless of rank or gender. This was the strength of the book for me, the way the characters feel fleshy and real. And the visuals, too. I would love to see this book turned into a graphic novel. The scene from the point-of-view of the pet chameleon would be worth it alone.

My advice? Get it if you want something fun-- if you can stand to not take it (or yourself) too seriously. If you want something really deep or really accurate, look elsewhere. The Ink Dark Moon is full of both passion and scholarly substance. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a traditional Japanese fairy tale that has been more exquisitely illustrated than any book has any right to be. I have a copy of this, and I swear it is the most beautiful book I own. If ancient Japan arouses your interest, either of them are worth checking out.

I just finished the book, and enjoyed it but for the ending. I read Murasaki's, Tale of Genji, many years ago. Considered to be the first novel ever written; it chronicles the many lovers of the court prince. This book, on the other hand, chronicles the awakening of a lower ranked court poet. Some of the tales and episodes are exploitative....which doesn't eliminate it from being a good read. I can think of others where violence isn't as necessary to the plot as in this one. Point being ...this book survives as a piece of literature resurrected from the past. Unlike the Shogun military chronicles of later years, this book contrasts the battles waged in the bedroom with those on the battlefield...all the while begging the question...what does it mean to love, honor and venerate yourself. I would recommend the story of the "lady who curdles herself."

While there are some deliciously erotic passages in the book, there are also passages of great cruelty that are passed off as erotic but are merely sadistic. The objects of this sadism are primarily women so the book fails in its promise to deliver eroticism that women will find intriguing. Add to that forumla the fact that it is set in Japan where most of the men have multiple mistresses, and the mistresses and wives are depicted as jeolous and full of envy, and I found it impossible to truly enjoy the sexual exploits in the book. Better to find a copy of Yellow Silk if you want to experience eroticism without feeling slightly degraded as a woman.