Lesley Downer

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Lesley Downer

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born
The United Kingdom
gender
female

website

member since
July 2009

About this author


'The Last Concubine' is set in old Japan, in the mid nineteenth century, when there was no specific word for romantic love. One of the most fascinating things about Japan is the way in which it makes you question everything you’ve taken for granted and assumed was human nature. Is love, for example, ‘human nature’? Or is it a cultural concept?
The concept of romantic love was not developed here... Read more of this blog post »
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Published on July 22, 2009 02:38 • 242 views • Tags: concubine, japan, love
Average rating: 3.70 · 1,976 ratings · 185 reviews · 15 distinct works · Similar authors
The Last Concubine
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 955 ratings — published 2008 — 24 editions
Women of the Pleasure Quart...
3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 523 ratings — published 2000 — 10 editions
Madame Sadayakko: The Geish...
3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 avg rating — 218 ratings — published 2003 — 9 editions
The Courtesan and the Samurai
3.32 of 5 stars 3.32 avg rating — 186 ratings — published 2010 — 13 editions
Across a Bridge of Dreams
4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions
On the Narrow Road: Journey...
3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 31 ratings3 editions
Brothers:, The: The Hidden ...
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1994 — 4 editions
At the Japanese Table: New ...
3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions
A Geisha for the American C...
5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions
Step by Step Japanese Cooking
by
2.5 of 5 stars 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1986 — 3 editions
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Yedo
Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
bookshelves: currently-reading

Lesley Lesley said: "This is a hard to find but fantastic book - a stupendous evocation of Japan in the 1850s. Both the Japanese and the western characters are brilliantly evoked and the detail is extremely accurate. Find it!"

 

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Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Brilliant and moving book. I love de Waal’s tactile descriptions; his perceptions are honed because he is a potter, he writes of how things feel as well as how they look. Was amazed throughout - at Charles’s charmed life, how he turned out have been...more
Lesley is currently reading
The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham
Lesley wants to read
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Lesley wants to read
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
A Visit from the Goon Squad
by Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)
read in June, 2012
Very interesting structure and story. Loved the way she moves between eras and viewpoints. And was glad when Scotty had his apotheosis.
Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
This is a gripping mystery, not a whodunit but a whydunit. I love the way Livesey weaves in references to much loved books of English literature, and also love her settings and her very distinctive characters. One gets to know them one by one and com...more
Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
The Flight of Gemma Hardy
by Margot Livesey
read in November, 2012
Just finished this book by Margot Livesey, who is a wonderful writer, and sorry to have reached the end. It’s a ‘Jane Eyre’ for modern times but with plenty of twists and turns and with a very strong and sympathetic main character. Gemma suffers all...more
Lesley rated a book 5 of 5 stars
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Lesley rated a book 3 of 5 stars
Opium Wars by W. Travis Hanes
Opium Wars
by W. Travis Hanes
read in August, 2010
More of Lesley's books…
“Once fallen, the blossom doesn't return to the branch”
Lesley Downer, Across a Bridge of Dreams

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Isabel Wolff Hi Lesley - I can't wait to read 'The Last Concubine' - my father-in-law read it and loved it!

Love
Isabelx


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