Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori, #2)

Apr 17, 2009 Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Allison (The Allure of Books) by: Fiona

Shelves: 2009, other-adult-fantasy, own-it

This book wasn't as good as the first one for me...just not quite as magical and exotic feeling...which could just stem from the fact I've been reading Shogun so the mythical Japanese world doesn't seem as mysterious to me as it did with Across the Nightingale Floor. The book still captured me from beginning to end, and I was caught up in the story. The book was pretty tense, and the ending set up very well for Brilliance of the Moon, can't wait to read it!

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Jun 04, 2008 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, fantasy

Although I gave this the same number of stars I gave Across the Nightingale Floor, I enjoyed book 2 of this trilogy less than the first one. While things happened in book 1, this book was mostly about the characters being holed up for a winter while making plans about what to do in the spring. It moves the characters forward, as they decide to make plans for themselves rather than allowing themselves to be pawns for other people, but nothing goes into action. It's a shame that an entire book wa...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Helmut Barro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: japan

Wer bin ich? Wohin gehöre ich?

Der zweite Teil der Geschichten um die Otori glänzt mit ähnlichen Eigenschaften wie Teil 1, Across the Nightingale Floor. "Grass for his Pillow" ist dabei noch deutlich zurückhaltender mit Action und bietet stattdessen tiefe Einblicke in die Persönlichkeit der Protagonisten, die über den ganzen Band weiter ausgearbeitet werden. Nahtlos geht die Handlung vom Vorgängerband weiter - nachdem Takeo praktisch dazu genötigt wurde, sich dem "Tribe" anzuschließen, beginnt nu...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I enjoyed reading Across the Nightingale Floor quite a bit, but my mistake was that I didn't buy the sequels at the same time. By the time I remembered to get them, two years had passed and, possibly because of that time away from Takeo's world, I didn't enjoy this second volume nearly as much. For the first several chapters I was completely lost as to who was whom (despite reading Wikipedia's largely useless recap of Across the Nightingale Floor beforehand), and by the time I started rememberi...more

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May 13, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fun, intense, really-dig-it

We learn more about The Tribe and their militant structural need for complete obedience from it’s members. At the end of Book 1, Takeo made an agreement with The Tribe – to join them willingly for their assistance. We pick up right where we left off at the end of Book 1 and follow along on Takeo’s shoulder as he undergoes basic training, Tribe style. He’s in for a rough time, as he has already made Tribe enemies.

Kaede is understandably deeply saddened at Takeo’s choice. She returns home to find...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Πέτρος rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Notice: I have made a review for every book of this series and they need to be read in order since they are supposed to feel like an on-going impression. So if you read the second without reading the first will feel rather off.

I am mostly focusing on the style of storytelling and a lot less on if it reads well or something sophisticated like that. For the same reason I tend to have lots of SPOILERS which means that if you read this text you will know THE OVERALL PLOT and how much I DIDN’T like...more Notice: I have made a review for every book of this series and they need to be read in order since they are supposed to feel like an on-going impression. So if you read the second without reading the first will feel rather off.

I am mostly focusing on the style of storytelling and a lot less on if it reads well or something sophisticated like that. For the same reason I tend to have lots of SPOILERS which means that if you read this text you will know THE OVERALL PLOT and how much I DIDN’T like it. So be warned that this is a mostly negative opinion for the whole trilogy which tends to reveal in detail why I didn’t like it. Better be read after you have read the books or if you want to avoid a not-so-smart series. YOU HAVE NOW BEEN WARNED and I can now initiate the slaughter.

--- Grass for his Pillow ---

The second book follows what happens after the fall of the Tohan. Arai, the new big shot warlord that beat the Tohan out of screen, wants to establish his rule by pretty much killing anyone who disagrees. Thus he wants to kill the hero out of fear of taking the people on his side after he helped in killing Iida. He also plans to kill any off-springs these two may had in case they want to take over their fathers’ place.

Which leads us to Kaede, the hero’s sweetheart. Remember that brief sex they had during that fateful night? Well, she is now carrying his baby. Wow, that was one heck of a successful first try. The thing is, she can’t reveal whose kid it is because Arai will want it dead. So she claims it’s Shigeru’s who was loved by most and not even Arai could control a revolt of such magnitude if it is known he killed his baby. Kaede returns to her palace, which is now ruined and poor because of wars and bad harvests. Her father is a semi-crazy man who wanted to do hara-kiri but his other daughters didn’t let him and now acts all insane for having lost his pride.

This entire part is basically describing how infatuated with honor samurais used to be. It is all about following the traditions, and being obedient, and gutting themselves if something went wrong. Because honor is above life you see, something I could never understand how it is gained by committing suicide. It is also about what stuck-up phallocrats they were, as Kaede tries to get some freedom and they keep on saying to shut up because she is a woman. This part is another thing that the author does in a too obvious way of speaking her mind. The males don’t even try to excuse it; they are just bastards who out of the blue don’t let women have rights. Sorry Lian, you didn’t hide your feminism well here.

Anyways, her crazy father tries to rape her like the asshole male he is and is killed by the ninja the hero trained with in the first book. He agrees to help her gain control of the household and also kills anyone who doesn’t accept a woman for his superior. Hm, ok, I didn’t exactly understand how feminism prevailed by having a male ninja slaughtering anyone who thinks otherwise but I guess it fits those violent times. She eventually tries to act like a man (like writing and talking as such) but eventually she still has the hots for the same guy. She even falls ill and miscarriages when she hears he may be dead. Yeah, no matter how much tomboy she tried to act, she is still the typical shoujo character.

In the meantime, our hero Takeo is trained harshly by the ninjas in order to become a ruthless killer. He learns all sorts of ninja tricks and even kills some poor guys who were marked for death for speaking their minds and being liberal. Again this part shows how inhumane this obedience fuss is. It also shows how it treats people as objects or cattle. Both Kaede and Takeo are seen by their superiors as nothing but breeders of powerful successors, thus they have a female ninja seducing Takeo by being his personal hentai slut and getting knocked off with his kid as well. They plan to raise the kid in the proper ninja ways and if it has inherited his father’s superpowers it will be unstoppable. Well, the more sheep you have, the better it is and these Japs sure treat people as such. Takeo finally betrays these assholes after he finds out they also murdered his father for not wanting to kill anymore and use him as nothing more than a stallion to knock off all their females.

He seeks refuge in the wilderness, where he is aided by the Hidden, the tribe he grew up with. Once more we see Lian doing a crappy job at showing how these people are poor, dirty, and hated by the rest just for being different, and like the dumb-ass Christians they are they just never fight back. The plead for sympathy for these guys is just ridiculous to the point I don’t care. What is even worse is how they have their own seer who gives the protagonist a prophecy. OH SHIT HERE WE GO AGAIN! This is a shounen adventure and having the main hero being born special is not enough, we also need to have fate itself working at his favor all the way. Hell, later on he finds out he is actually a noble descendant besides a ninja as well. So the seer pretty much tells him he will become the ruler of all the lands and that his own son will kill him. Ok, thanks for ruining the suspense, can I stop reading now? I already know what will happen next because of that. And it wasn’t Takeo who chose to leave the ninjas with his free will; it was God telling him to do it. What a bunch of crock…

Not only that, but the author keeps throwing conveniences to keep saving their asses and having poor excuses to inform them where they can find each other. Plot armor all the way! Thus the most improbable random encounters with allies take place to save them from trouble or to inform them of vital information. Thus they manage to find one another and the book ends with Takeo marrying Kaede.

The second book was a lot less focused on action; there were only a few skirmishes and not a single war or massacre. It also went a lot deeper in the mentality of the characters and the ridiculous obedience everybody needed to show all the time. It was all honor or death, and women are objects. It also showed how alliances and friendships are forged around necessities when it comes to nobles, something which is self-proven but nice to see nonetheless. Beyond that, no good twists or innovation at all. (less)

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Oct 28, 2011 Bangsamanusia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kenji, lelaki tua dari kaum Tribe, sekali waktu pernah berjanji pada Shigeru. Tak sekalipun ia akan mengkhianati Shigeru, dan selamanya ia menobatkan diri sebagai sahabat. Tapi Kenji telah membohongi Shigeru, begitu rupa, membuat Shigeru dijadikan tumbal atas kekejaman Iida. Kenji berkhianat, melarikan Takeso, dan membiarkan Shigeru menjadi mangsa di kandang Iida, sendiri, tanpa pertolongan, tanpa permintaan ampun. Kenji berlari ke sukunya, begitupula Takeso yang tak berdaya dalam permainan nasi...more Kenji, lelaki tua dari kaum Tribe, sekali waktu pernah berjanji pada Shigeru. Tak sekalipun ia akan mengkhianati Shigeru, dan selamanya ia menobatkan diri sebagai sahabat. Tapi Kenji telah membohongi Shigeru, begitu rupa, membuat Shigeru dijadikan tumbal atas kekejaman Iida. Kenji berkhianat, melarikan Takeso, dan membiarkan Shigeru menjadi mangsa di kandang Iida, sendiri, tanpa pertolongan, tanpa permintaan ampun. Kenji berlari ke sukunya, begitupula Takeso yang tak berdaya dalam permainan nasib.

Seharusnya, bersama Kenji dan Shigeru, ia akan menghabisi Iida pada malam itu, meski nasib berkata lain, dan justru Shigeru yang menjadi bulan-bulanan Iida di tembok penghukuman. Tapi, benarkah Kenji berkhianat, atau ia begitu realistis hingga melarikan diri, mencoba untuk selamat dari terjangan Iida yang mungkin akan pula merenggut nyawa Takeso. Meski Kenji benar tak sepenuhnya berkhianat dalam pandangan Shigeru, tapi apapun alasan yang dibuatnya telah mematikan kepercayaan Takeso padanya.

Dalam surat terakhirnya pada Takeso, kata-kata Shigeru seperti lirih hendak menuturkan tentang takdir yang seharusnya dipilih, bukan dihakimi. Ia tahu benar watak Kenji, dan ia mengerti benar pengkhianatannya. Ia tak bertaruh dengan nasib andai ia tak bisa mempercayai Kenji. Ia memilih jalan terbaik bagi Takeso, ketika Iida telah mengetahui apa yang hendak direncanakan pada dirinya oleh Shigeru. Serta-merta ia bersembunyi, tapi ia tak bersembunyi sendiri. Ia justru mengkhawatirkan Takeso, di tengah-tengah ketika nyawanya sendiri terancam.

Kenji pergi menjauh, meninggalkan Shigeru, dan ditinggalkan Takeso pada akhirnya. Tapi, pengkhianatan Kenji pada Shigeru justru dapat berbuntut kebaikan pada kaumnya. Ya, Shigeru pula memberi kebaikan dari kematiannya pada kaum Tribe saat ia mati, karena darinyalah Takeso, yang memiliki sebagian darah kaum Tribe ditemukan. Kenji sedang bermain dadu dengan kenyataan, meski itu berbuntut pada kematian sahabatnya sendiri. Itulah pilihan yang dianggap Kenji terbaik bagi kaumnya, bagi bangsa Tribe yang mulai punah.

Tapi, bagiku Kenji sama kejamnya dengan Iida, karena ia tak mempersoalkan bagaimana kemanusiaan itu berada di sana. Ia tak berurusan dengan penderitaan petani, atau penderitaan kalangan ksatria yang dirampas hak-hak ke-wilayah-an-nya. Segalanya adalah politik bagi Tribe, dan segalanya adalah demi Tribe dalam benak Kenji. Lalu, tak adakah kaum di luar Tribe? Mereka yang juga memiliki hak hidup dan merdeka sebagaimana kalangan bangsawan kerajaan Iida ataupula Tribe?

Aku seperti tak mengenang Shigeru saat ia memaafkan Kenji atas pembunuhannya, meski justru itulah yang membuatku semakin kagum membaca novel karangan Lian Hearn bertajuk Kisah Klan Otori itu. Intrik dan pengkhianatan hanya masalah sudut-pandang, meski di luar pandangan itu, beberapa orang memang terlahir sebagai sang hero, sang bijak, sang merdeka, meski ia lebih tertindas dari kalangan rakyat manapun. Tribe adalah satu realitas dalam novel, yang terlahir sebagai pandangan kita, ketika pengkhianatan hanya benar tentang sudut-pandang.

Dari sudut pandang orang luar, Kenji dari bangsa Tribe telah berkhianat, karena darinyalah hingga Shigeru digantung. Tapi bagi kaum Tribe, Kenjilah justru penyelamat, seseorang yang membawa Takeso kembali kepada bangsa Tribe, untuk melanjutkan kepemimpinan bangsa itu yang hampir musnah. Aku memang memilih sudut-pandang pertama, dan membiarkan hatiku diselimuti gagasan tentang pengkhianatan Kenji, tapi bagaimanapun, aku bukanlah Tribe, yang mampu memahami bagaimana seharusnya melihat Tribe saat mereka pula diambang kehancuran.(less)

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Apr 28, 2011 emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fiction-alternate-universe, fiction-historical, fiction-young-adult, fiction-grownup-books, strong-heroines

I'm calling these books young adult as well as for adults, though I think the only reason I think of them as young adult is because the protagonists are in their late teens. These are definitely books I would have read and loved as a teenager; there's no explicit sex though lots of reference to it, and the violence is hardly as graphic as you see in movies.

Anyway, genre descriptions aside, this is a brilliant trilogy and I am literally only pausing long enough to write my review of book two befo...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book in the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn. This book picks up where the first left off. Takeo leaves Kaede for training under the mysterious Tribe; whose supernatural abilities Takeo has inherited from his father. As his training concludes, and he is asked to take out certain missions, he must ask himself if his loyalties will lie with the Tribe or with the Otori? Kaede meanwhile is left on her own to return home and see what state her family is in. Kaede struggles t...more

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Aug 18, 2010 Levana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like others have mentioned, 'Grass For His Pillow' is a bridge, obviously leading up to events in the third book. While the book is slow, the language is still flowery and engaging, and I am continually intrigued by the complicated web of politics and honor. I greatly appreciate how the Tribe's abilities are supernatural, yet it does not feel like fantasy or magic.

However, I am finding it exceedingly difficult to establish an emotional, immediate connection with the main characters, Takeo and Ka...more

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May 10, 2010 Kandice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This being the second, in a planned trilogy, I felt it was more of a "place holder" or a "where we are now" kind of book. It reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back. It's a continuation of the story of the characters we've come to love, but not much happens. We get a lot more back story, but not a whole lot of action, other than to put our heroes in a harder spot. That's okay, I already have the third book on my nightstand waiting to be read.:)

The Japan that Hearn has created is beautiful. I gener...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Sandy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sandy by: Chamness

Shelves: action-adventure, alternating-viewpoints, fantasy, fantasy-classic, adult, teen, strong-girls, romance, multicultural

In this book, our hero Takeo figures out over the course of about 200 pages that all of the decisions he made at the climatic end of the first volume (Across the Nightingale Floor) were stupid. He then spends the last 100 pages attempting to undo these decisions and set things right - the act of which promises to cause the conflict that will drive the last book in the trilogy since aparently the timing is no longer right so now the "right" decisions are actually bad decisions.

Honestly, Kaede's...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Michael Schmid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Es hat zwar wirklich bis zur Hälfte des Buches gedauert, bis ich wieder wusste, warum mir der erste Band so gefallen hat, aber dann war ich auch wieder voll drin und konnte es gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.

Was mich schon am Vorgänger so begeistert und fansiniert hat ist ganz klar Lian Hearns unfassbar toller Schreibstil. Ich habe immer das Gefühl, dass dieses Werk eine Japanerin geschrieben hat und ich mich im alten Japan der Sengoku Jidai befinde. Sie beschreibt ihre Umgebungen und Gefühle...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Michiyo 'jia' Fujiwara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, asian-literature, japanese-literature, novel-dewasa, australian-literature, ebook

Rumit..makin rumit..liat Genealogy Tree-nya dulu ya:

description

Pasca kematian sang antagonis, Lord Tohan Iida di seri sebelumnya..wilayah kerajaan Tohan dan negeri jajahannya..otomatis mengalami kekosongan..tak ada kepemimpinan..kosong.. dan Lord Arai Daiichi sang desertir secara sepihak adalah penguasa baru wilayah ini..Bagaimana nasib percintaan Takeo dan Kaede???

Takeo
Lord Takeo yang disambut bak pahlawan karena telah berhasil memenggal kepala si lord antagonis..padahal sang pembunuh sebenarnya adalah k...more Rumit..makin rumit..liat Genealogy Tree-nya dulu ya:

description

Pasca kematian sang antagonis, Lord Tohan Iida di seri sebelumnya..wilayah kerajaan Tohan dan negeri jajahannya..otomatis mengalami kekosongan..tak ada kepemimpinan..kosong.. dan Lord Arai Daiichi sang desertir secara sepihak adalah penguasa baru wilayah ini..Bagaimana nasib percintaan Takeo dan Kaede???

Takeo
Lord Takeo yang disambut bak pahlawan karena telah berhasil memenggal kepala si lord antagonis..padahal sang pembunuh sebenarnya adalah kekasihnya sendiri. Lord Arai berencana untuk memperkokoh persekutuan 3 wilayah kerajaan, berencana untuk menikahkan Lord Takeo dan Lady Kaede. Tapi rencana itu tak berjalan mulus karena Takeo tiba-tiba saja diculik..oleh suatu kelompok rahasia yang dahulu, ayah kandung Takeo pernah ikut juga dalam organisasi tersebut; Tribe..nah dari sini Takeo dihadapkan sebuah pilihan untuk masuk ke Tribe dan melupakan klan Otori..atau balik lagi ke klan Otori tapi itu tak dapat dimungkinkannya..bimbang..bimbang..sampai ada satu orang yang mengajaknya kabur meninggalkan Tribe..Yuki..masih saudara sepupu Takeo(?).. lamanya kebersamaan dalam perjalanan yang meraka lakukan berdua..singkat cerita terjadilah affair diantara keduanya.. Takeo.. waah.. lagi.. lagi.. bimbang.. bimbang dengan masa depannya bersama Kaede..apakah mereka bisa bertemu kembali??

Kaede
Sebagian kisah dalam seri ini khusus diperuntukan untuk Kaede..karena ini adalah tentang peran seorang perempuan dalam sistem kerajaan yang dijalankan Jepang pada masa itu..semua orang bahkan ayahnya sendiri meragukan Kaede untuk bisa memimpin klannya sendiri..Shirakawa..sejak kematian ibu kandungnya yang secara otomatis, Lord Shirakawa, ayah dari Kaede..tidak mempunyai keturunan laki-laki, maka tahta akan jatuh ketangan anak perempuan sulungnya; Kaede..Lalu nasib Kaede makin diperparah dengan kematian ayahnya..ia takut..tapi berani juga melanjutnya pemerintahan dalam klannya sendiri..dengan bantuan Lord Fujiwara..Kaede mampu sedikit demi sedikit bisa mengatasi masalah keuangan dan pangan yang membebaninya saat itu..tapi bantuan yang diberikan oleh Lord Fujiwara bukan tanpa pamrih..satu kesalahapahaman..membuat Lord Fujiwara mengira ia telah bertunangan dengan Kaede..

Sampai akhirnya kedua pasangan ini bertemu kembali..Takeo.. dan.. Kaede..
(less)

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Feb 20, 2011 Lis Carey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: f-sf

Book Two of Tales of the Otori. Takeo and Kaede, their friends and allies, and their more interesting and important enemies and rivals have lots more trouble and suffer through far more interesting times than they can feel that they deserve. Told in alternating sections from Takeo's viewpoint and from Kaede's, they are seemingly irrevocably separated from each other. Kaede returns home to her father's house, to find that her mother is dead and her father has been a terrible manager and that she...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Becca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-makes-me-feel-young, brilliant-just-brilliant

For a middle-book in a trilogy, this one was really fabulously done, with the exception that it should have been longer. I love where the story-line is going even though I'm not sure where it will end up, the characters (which I thought were fabulous for the most part in the first book) have really grown on me, and the relationships that have developed are full and interesting.

One thing I really like about this author so far is she isn't afraid to subject her characters to the greatest pain pos...more

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Nov 06, 2009 Faelissa Belikov rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku ke 2 dari kisah klan otori. Setelah kematian Shigeru, Takeo lebih memilih tribe ketimbang menjadi pewaris otori,walaupun dengan terpaksa karena terikat sumpah pada tribe (nyebelin banget). Nyebelin juga baca buku ini, karena dari awal gw lebih suka Takeo memilih jadi bangsawan otori daripada tribe. ;P
belum lagi tanpa sepengetahuan Takeo klan tribe merencanakan untuk 'menyatukan' Takeo dengan Yuki putrinya Muto Kenji. Agar Yuki hamil. Dan si tolol Takeo walaupun katanya nggak cinta tetap aj...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Jeph rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lian Hearn's "Grass for his Pillow" is a must-continue for fans of "Across the Nightingale Floor", and resumes the story of Otori Takeo and Shirakawa Kaede, of the first book, but leaves much to be desired in terms of plot, action and everything else that made Hearn's first entry in this series so magical and endearing.

"Grass" picks up almost exactly where "Across" left off. Takeo is now with the Tribe and much of the book focuses on Kaede trying to claim her inheritance of domain, meanwhile fen...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Ambrosia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While the plot structure of this second book in the series is a little less traditional than the first, that actually works in many ways to its advantage. Both of the main characters are trying to find their identity in various ways, and while the plot is far less action-oriented, I found the character development associated with their internal struggles to make them far more compelling than they were in the first book. Towards the end, when Takeo sees Kaede and observes how much they've both ch...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Patricia J. O'Brien rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm really enjoying this series. Perhaps I get an added pleasure from the moments of descriptive writing that remind me of haiku in the midst of an action-packed story of struggle and strife. Book Two continues the political intrigue, mysterious relationships and star-crossed love affairs of the first book, as well as serving up some beautiful writing.

Here are two examples (two different POVs) of that spare but powerful style:
I made no decisions and came to no conclusions. I simply lay awake for...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Sparrow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was good, though it felt a little less structured and complete than the first one. The first sent me on an emotional journey but this felt more like half of a story. Sure it's a trilogy, but I feel like each book in a series should be able to stand alone to a point. This one doesn't really have much of a climax.

It doesn't really bother me that much considering I have the next book waiting for me, but I just think it wasn't as good as the first. I'm still enjoying the series though, which is...more

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Jul 29, 2010 an rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jepun, roman

setelah cukup berhasil menuntaskan buku pertama, buku kedua ini terasa tersendat-sendat. langsung nengok halaman depan na. nah... nama penerjemah na sama, tapi kq ini lebih bikin kesandung-sandung baca na ya. jadi berasa kurang bisa menikmati karena sering na kesandung.

cerita yang masih sama, pergulatan takeo yang memiliki 5 darang mengalir dalam diri na, mino-otori-tribe. tidak bisa dipingkiri kalau semua na itu ada dalam diri na. namun manakan yang akan dia perjuangkan?

begitu juga kaede, kekas...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Fantasist rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, japan, 2011

I think the series has grown on me, I am finding the writing in the 2nd book to be much better quality, and my complaint with the last book about detail has been rectified in this book. The pacing is slower than in the first book, though I have found this slowing down to be well compensated by the rise in quality of the prose.
Upto now I don't agree with the general opinion that this book is somehow lesser than the first one, on the contrary it may be better.
After finishing this book one can see...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Veronica Widya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

wah ternyata buku ini sama bagusnya sama yg pertama. :D
g lumayan suka karna di sini takeo mengambil keputusan yang menurut gw sangat besarr. karna dia harus milih untuk tetep bergabung sma tribe ato pergi dan mempertahankan klan otori.
kenapa gw bilang ini keputusan yg berat, soalnya di tribe itu keras banget, dan kalo sampe dia melarikan diri, hukumannya yah mati.
tapi dia berani ambil resiko itu dan tetep berjuang untuk Otori. Bravo bangedd. :D
tapi di sini gw ga sukanya , udah tau dia sayangnya...more

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Dec 01, 2007 Miss rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: general audience, lovers of anything japanese

Shelves: december-2007

This series just keeps on getting better. I started it yesterday morning and finished it before bed. I am now thinking of calling to work sick tomorrow to finish the third installment (but you all know I won't...).

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Oct 08, 2011 Nerida Hart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it had been a while since reading "across the nightingale floor" but I quickly got in the flow of the book again. I remembered what happened, and quickly got into the flow of the story. With such a break between reading the two books, obviously the first left quite an impression on me considering I was that able to pick up where I left off. I enjoyed the book, the way Lian Hern wrote, and the two main characters. Great fictional history book, easy read, but intriguing and keeps you captured the...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arts-and-historical

Praised for its epic scope and descriptive detail, Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series, was an international bestseller and critical success, named by the London Times as "the most compelling novel to have been published this year." With Grass for His Pillow, Book Two, we return to the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's creation—a land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances.

In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, t...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Angus Burns rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I decided to read this book because the cover caught my eye, and when I read the blurb I decided it was a book I would like to read.

This book completes the "Teaches you about another Culture" section on the grid.

What I liked about this book was its in dpepth plot, and the way it develops the characters throughout the book.

to be perfectly honest, there was nothing I did no like about this book, it was an entertaining book all the way through.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in bo...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Nerida Hart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it had been a while since reading "across the nightingale floor" but I quickly got in the flow of the book again. I remembered what happened, and quickly got into the flow of the story. With such a break between reading the two books, obviously the first left quite an impression on me considering I was that able to pick up where I left off. I enjoyed the book, the way Lian Hern wrote, and the two main characters. Great fictional history book, easy read, but intriguing and keeps you captured the...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Rosemary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This second in the series is a good follow-up to Across the Nightingale Floor. I found it harder to get into at first, but it caught my interest from about a third of the way through. I liked the character of Lord Fujiwara but he seemed to be the only important new character in the book. I really missed Shigeru and there was nobody to replace him. I did appreciate the development of Kaede as a more mature character.

I won't be reading the third one right away, if ever. I fear it will be battle af...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1182983.Grass_for_His_Pillow?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334298509l/1182983.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1182983.Grass_for_His_Pillow?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn[/url]

Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori #2)

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