Stone Field, True Arrow: A Novel [Hardcover]

Kyoko Mori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2000

In her debut novel for adults, Kyoko Mori has drawn on ancient myths, reworked with her hallmark lush and lyrical prose, to probe the eternal question: Given the fragility of life, is love too great a risk?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Simple language and strong emotion are effectively used to relate the story of Maya Ishida, a 35-year-old Japanese-American woman who must confront her painful past in order to re-evaluate her safe but soul-crushing present. Maya works as an artisan, weaving cloth and making clothes. She's married to high school English teacher Jeff and they live placidly in Wisconsin, near her childhood friend, Yuko. When Maya is informed that her father, whom she hasn't seen for 25 years, has died in Osaka, it is the enclosed drawing that jars her memory: her artist father drew a picture of the day 10-year-old Maya left Japan to move to Minneapolis with her mother, Kay, who had abandoned her husband and Maya three years earlier. Maya attempts to understand why, after she moved to the States, she never heard from her father again; why the letters she wrote him were returned unopened; why he allowed her to be raised by cruel, selfish Kay, who has tried to erase every trace of her Japanese origins and encourages her daughter to do the same. In the process, Maya comes to terms with her passionless marriage, learning to cope with the fear of being alone and falling in love for the first time. This first foray into adult fiction by YA author and memoirist Mori (Shizuko's Daughter; The Dream of Water) is graceful in its simplicity of language and in the subtle way in which Eastern and Western folk tales are interlaced with the plot line. The pace of the book is perhaps too leisurely, maintaining a calm, unruffled tone even at the emotional apex, but despite the mannered structure, Maya's cultural identity and family history are lucidly invoked, and her struggle emerges as a universal one. 5-city author tour. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The author of Shizuko!s Daughter, a New York Times Best Young Children!s Book, and the memoir Polite Lies, Mori (creative writing, Harvard) unveils her first work of fiction for adults. The story opens with 34-year-old Maya, a Wisconsin artisan, learning of the death of her father in Japan. Throughout, Maya searches her memories to find any evidence of love from her estranged father, an artist with whom she lived in Japan until she was sent to her mother and stepfather in America. In a work revolving around relationships, Mori takes the reader on Maya!s journey of self-discovery. Quiet and reclusive by nature, she undergoes numerous emotional struggles, such as dealing with her twice-divorced mother and confronting the disintegration of her own marriage while flirting with the notion of an impending affair. As a whole, Mori!s work and narration are deeply thoughtful, yet the novel appears to carry one too many story lines, leaving many of her characters somewhat underdeveloped and making them potentially hard to relate to for some readers. This aside, Mori!s work is not without merit and is recommended for larger fiction collections as needed."Shirley N. Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books; 1st edition (September 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805040803
• ISBN-13: 978-0805040807
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,278,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite awful, perhaps, August 31, 2002

By 

Evelyn Uyemura (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stone Field, True Arrow: A Novel (How to Draw) (Paperback)

I understand the reviewer who found this book awful and unreadable, though I wouldn't go that far. But the character Mori is describing a person who is quiet, unemotional, slow-paced (and who is probably herself), and so the book itself reads quietly, slowly, and unemotionally. Not my idea of a real good read.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender and fragile look at relationships, August 29, 2000

By 

"berenjena" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone Field, True Arrow: A Novel (Hardcover)

In this novel there are several relationships which need a little work, and lots of understanding. The two main ones are between Maya and her girlfriend, and Maya and her husband. Throught out the book you want Maya to be happy, and she wants to work at it, but her need for independence is overpowering. It is a very sensitive novel, which taugh me lots about unconditional love. I wish this novel continued a bit more but overall it was very satisfying. Thank you Kyoko.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK!, May 23, 2003

By 

G. T. Sosnowski "Web Designer" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stone Field, True Arrow: A Novel (How to Draw) (Paperback)

I love this book. Ever since i picked it up (as soon as it came out) I've been in love with it, and think it would make a great plot for a movie, just as long as nothing is changed (or too considerably!) ! The writing is simple and emotional. I love the way Mori describes everything, even though sometimes, there are some metaphors I don't understand or seem weird or out of place, but I like that for some reason. A great book, espeically for any Kyoko Mori fan. I've been one since I picked up "One Bird" (a YA novel of hers). I love the way the dialogue flows and I love her thoughts [in the novel].
However maybe, the beauty of this book might be ruined by Hollywood.
Well, whether or not, it became a movie - it should be enjoyed from whichever perspective you choose. I certainly can't wait for her next book to come out, provided she writes one !