false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170347907m/47633.jpg 47633 10 A sweeping debut novel drawn from a history shrouded in secrets about two women-one American, one Japanese-whose fates become entwined in the rapidly changing world of late-nineteenth-century Japan. <br/><br/> When nine-year-old Aurelia Bernard takes shelter in Kyoto's beautiful and mysterious Baishian teahouse after a fire one night in 1866, she is unaware of the building's purpose. She has just fled the only family she's ever known: after her French immigrant mother died of cholera in New York, her abusive missionary uncle brought her along on his assignment to Christianize Japan. She finds in Baishian a place that will open up entirely new worlds to her- and bring her a new family. <br/><br/> It is there that she discovers the woman who will come to define the next several decades of her life, Shin Yukako, daughter of Kyoto's most important tea master and one of the first women to openly practice the sacred ceremony known as the Way of Tea. For hundreds of years, Japan's warriors and well-off men would gather in tatami-floored structures- teahouses- to participate in an event that was equal parts ritual dance and sacramental meal. Women were rarely welcome, and often expressly forbidden. But in the late nineteenth century, Japan opened its doors to the West for the first time, and the seeds of drastic changes that would shake all of Japanese society, even this most civilized of arts, were planted. <br/><br/> Taking her for the abandoned daughter of a prostitute rather than a foreigner, the Shin family renames Aurelia "Urako" and adopts her as Yukako's attendant and surrogate younger sister. Yukako provides Aurelia with generosity, wisdom, and protection as she navigates a culture that is not accepting of outsiders. From her privileged position at Yukako's side, Aurelia aids in Yukako's crusade to preserve the tea ceremony as it starts to fall out of favor under pressure of intense Westernization. And Aurelia herself is embraced and rejected as modernizing Japan embraces and rejects an era of radical change. <br/><br/> An utterly absorbing story told in an enchanting and unforgettable voice, <i>The Teahouse Fire</i> is a lively, provocative, and lushly detailed historical novel of epic scope and compulsive readability. 2489729 28 12 2006 The Teahouse Fire total:567|5:4|4:11|3:9|2:6|1:1| 567 1890 1009 183 2 5 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 17 18:54:36 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 03 15:25:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 19:12:18 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 20:47:29 -0700 2008
However, the story is not drawing me in and I am find it boring over all. Which is a shame, becau...more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 08:41:17 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 07:31:30 -0800 2008
Aurelia, a young, fatherless French girl, moves to New York with her mother. ...more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Jul 16 22:08:51 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 22:24:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 18:15:48 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 05:43:43 -0800 2009 The Teahouse Fire is rich in historical notes but burns brightly with a story that will keep you engaged. As the main character begins to unravel the mysteries of the Japanes...more...]]> 3 0 false true Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 17:53:52 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 18:11:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 12:37:16 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 12:47:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 17:33:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 17:33:44 -0800 2009
This book is about an American girl who, when orphaned, goes to Japan to live with her uncle who is a monk at a mission. Her uncle attempts to molest this nine-year-o...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 15 01:58:05 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 19:01:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 19:00:25 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 19:10:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 12:15:44 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 12:29:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 11:19:10 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 08:03:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 27 14:09:12 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 14:18:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 16:01:15 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 18:46:03 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 31 17:12:37 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 22 21:21:21 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 31 17:12:37 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 14:03:32 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 14:12:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false true Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 20:43:43 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 20:43:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 09 12:31:40 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 04 14:27:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 08 19:14:36 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 19:21:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 21 09:26:53 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 09:38:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=47633