The Commoner: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)

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The Commoner: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)

by John Burnham Schwartz

3.42 · rating details · 1,974 ratings · 513 reviews

In 1959, a young woman, Haruko, marries the Crown Prince of Japan. She is the first nonaristocratic woman to enter the mysterious, hermetic monarchy. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress, Haruko is controlled at every turn, suffering a nervous breakdown after finally giving birth to a son. Thirty years later, now Empress herself, she plays a crucial role in persua...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published January 6th 2009 by Vintage (first published January 22nd 2008)

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Feb 18, 2008

Yulia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: by-and-of-japan

why only three stars?

1) i shouldn't have to wait 150 pages to finally care about a book. the book hardly held my attention while haruko was still a commoner. i did feel life from her friend miko and miko's brother kenji, but their presence was too limited to make it plausible that haruko had led a full, free life before entering the royal family. if anything, she seemed rather boring and free of ambition, the je ne sais quoi that others would call dynamism or a spark.

2...morewhy only three stars?

1) i shouldn't have to wait 150 pages to finally care about a book. the book hardly held my attention while haruko was still a commoner. i did feel life from her friend miko and miko's brother kenji, but their presence was too limited to make it plausible that haruko had led a full, free life before entering the royal family. if anything, she seemed rather boring and free of ambition, the je ne sais quoi that others would call dynamism or a spark.

2) i wanted to know why she turned down the other men who had proposed to her. it would have been good to meet some of these disappointed suitors? was it because she could tell they were only interested in her family? how did her parents react to her wanting to be in love with her future husband? or was she (and her mother) expecting someone of greater prominence to ask her?

3) similarly, i don't quite buy that she was in love with the crown prince. there was too many barriers around him for her to know who he really was. wasn't it his elusiveness that interested her most? they were strangers when they married and he never came across as anything but a weak-willed man who always did as he was told and no more.

4) the nemeses of haruko's early court life, the original empress and mrs. oshima, were rather one-dimensional and oshima's eventual diminution of power over haruko was only mentioned in passing. there should have been a more definitive scene when haruko knew she was no longer under oshima's thumb, or where she no longer let herself care. as it is, the senescence that ultimately leads to their powerlessness isn't portrayed in any detail, so it's rather anti-climactic.

5) the book is sprinkled with similes that are not ones i could believe a japanese native would use. i forget these examples, but they stick out rather sorely whenever i came upon them. any reference to this book's being the next "memoirs of a geisha" greatly overrate this book's ability to make the reader forget this was written by a born-and-bred american.

6) i couldn't understand how she'd come to be at peace after her bout of silence with her decision to remain a royal prisoner. shouldn't haruko have been happy for her daughter to be cast out of the family for marrying a commoner? why were there no scenes of visits from the daughter to show if haruko envied her daughter or left she could no longer connect with her?

7) i found it a hokey stretch for miko to suddenly come back into the picture near the end and come to the rescue.

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Oct 03, 2009

Sara rated it

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Recommends it for: people with patience for a slow story with little pay-off

Shelves: audiobooks, not_impressed, fiction

I found this book slow and deliberate and repetitive. I was intrigued by the premise: a first person narrative by the Empress of Japan who was, in her youth after WWII, the first commoner ever to marry into the Imperial family. Unfortunately, this excellent idea for a fascinating plot in a rare and exclusive setting tiptoes along, dwelling on uninteresting details and never really allowing the reader to experience any of the character's emotions through her stilted re-telling.

This ...more

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Oct 05, 2011

Suzanne rated it

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Shelves: fiction, around-the-world-challenge

In The Commoner, John Burnham Schwartz takes a real life story about the Crown Prince of Japan marrying a commoner and turns it into a novel. The heroine, Haruko, catches the eye of Japan’s most eligible bachelor, promptly beats him at tennis (twice) and succumbs to the attraction of both the man and the fairy tale.

“At every turn, sometimes subtly and sometimes crudely, the same lesson was driven home: the world would greet me with abject deference not because I deserved or wish...more

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Apr 22, 2008

Jerramy rated it

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My royal novel of choice is usually something about the British royal family – so “The Commoner” was a quite a refreshingly regal change for me. And that said - I loved every graceful, delicate word of it. The author’s light touch and poignant tone captures the grace and humility of the Japanese imperial culture until you are immersed within the painful intricacies of palace life. Based on Japan’s real-life royal family, the book takes you on the journey of two generations of Japanese Crown Pri...more

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Jan 02, 2009

Sumi rated it

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Shelves: fiction

I really wished I could have liked this better than I did but the author only made me feel as if I were seeing a thin veneer of the characters. In actual life there was tons of drama going on with the imperial marriages and I didn't feel any of it in the writing. A lack of real knowledge about the inner workings of the imperial household probably was the reason for some of it.

For me, though, the ending was where it all fell apart. It was too improbable and made me briefly flirt with ...more

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Feb 04, 2008

Suzanne rated it

· review of another edition

John Burnham Schwartz tends to write with a degree of formality, which works well in this story of a Japanese woman from a good family who becomes the first commoner to marry into Japan's royal family.

The bare bones of the story will strike those who live in Japan as familiar - the crown prince and his bride (in this story, Haruko) meet on a tennis court in Karuizawa. Under the constant scrutiny of the court, Haruko becomes so stressed that she loses her voice for several months. ...more

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Mar 12, 2009

Patti rated it

· review of another edition

A facinating book about Japan and the Royal family. I really got an inside look at how the Emperor and his family exist. Makes me glad that not only am I a commoner, but also a peasant. Great read!

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Feb 20, 2009

Caitlin rated it

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Shelves: historical-fiction

A decent historical fiction novel about a country that has always fascinated me. The Commoner is most interesting because it explores a time that borders between ancient and modern. The events described could have easily lent themselves to a sweeping epic tale in the vein of Empress Orchard that detailed court life and intrigue. But that's not the route Schwartz takes. Rather, his novel is emotional and internal. The Commoner tells the story of Haruko, a smart, beautiful, athletic, but common Ja...more

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Nov 10, 2011

Irick Marie rated it

· review of another edition

The pacing of the story was REALLY slow since it has a very descriptive and detailed plot. The writer was a bit too verbose and at some point I was bored to death. But I get his point. He needs to establish each character, side story and setting first. He needs to let the reader know and understand the circumstances that led to the marriage between a commoner and Japan’s Crown Prince. It’s not some fairytale story where anything goes and everything is magic. I think most of the information provi...moreThe pacing of the story was REALLY slow since it has a very descriptive and detailed plot. The writer was a bit too verbose and at some point I was bored to death. But I get his point. He needs to establish each character, side story and setting first. He needs to let the reader know and understand the circumstances that led to the marriage between a commoner and Japan’s Crown Prince. It’s not some fairytale story where anything goes and everything is magic. I think most of the information provided were actual facts (maybe slightly distorted for creativity). Most events regarding the war and Japan’s history and tradition were of course true.

So the plot goes something like this. Haruko belongs to a middle class family. She’s the only child of a wealthy businessman. Despite her good background and education, she is still criticized and regarded as a ‘commoner’ when the young Crown Prince decided to choose her as his royal consort. It was just too sweet and kilig coz they only got acquainted through playing tennis (where Haruko mercilessly defeats him over and over). I think the Prince really likes her coz he was really persistent to marry her even after her family declined many times.

During these times, it is said that “a girl’s family was far more important than the girl herself.”

I like Haruko’s family here. Especially her dad. They are not like those ambitious and conceited rich parents who are so obsessed in conformity with the society’s rules and standards. They are very realistic. They didn’t ‘sell’ their daughter even to the Crown Prince because they knew the consequences of the situation, with their family being considered as mere commoners. I actually like every word that comes out of Haruko’s dad’s mouth. He’s witty, full of sense and very hilarious without trying too hard.

There was a part when Haruko was a teenager and her mom was so obsessed with the Crown Prince and the Royal family. So she was blabbing on about how “the Prince has grown three centimeters over the summer alone”. Haruko’s dad answered with this.

Haruko’s dad: “By almost every account he’s a fine young man. I’m simply trying to figure out why I should care that he’s three centimeters taller than he was in May.”

And when Haruko’s mom got mad at him for being disrespectful to the Prince, he said “Better to be impossible than measured in centimeters!”

When he was asked by the nosy reporters about random facts about Haruko, his reply was this: “Can she cook? Why certainly, I said, she can cook seaweed. If you like seaweed then she’s your girl. Can she write beautiful prose? Of course not, she’s a terrible writer just like her father. Can she count? Only when she’s spending my money, I told them, which she does very well indeed. Well, what are her good qualities, they wanted to know. Good qualities? Hmmm. I said give me a few days, I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something.”

He’s very honest and he doesn’t take bullsh*t from anyone. He never conceals his daughter’s (or anyone else’s, for that matter) bad side. He believes in his daughter and his family. And most important of all, he sets his own policies and he goes by it. I just love this character. I hope he stays to the end.
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Aug 04, 2011

Sara rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: asian-hist-fic

This was okay. I almost quit reading it after the first few pages because I thought it was miserably boring despite the fact that it's written about a subject in which I'm extremely interested. I wasn't really in the mood for reading so rather than started a new novel, I continued reading this one at odd moments throughout the day and before I went to sleep. I found myself wondering how it would end because I know more or less the story of the sitting Japanese imperial family and was intereste...more

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Jul 20, 2011

Michelle rated it

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Shelves: book-club-2

I was excited to read a book based in Japan because I don't get around to doing that much, unfortunately. The book is a work of fiction, but is very clearly based on the life of Empress Michiko and later in the book, Crown Princess Masako. The beginning jumped around, giving you bits and pieces of Haruko's childhood (that's the one that's supposed to be like the empress). It was a bit too choppy for my liking. When we finally get into Haruko's twenties, when she's playing tennis and meets the pr...more

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Nov 08, 2010

Bobbi rated it

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Shelves: fiction

Haruko was born in Toyko in 1934. She is from a financially secure family which socializes with the Japanese upper class. Haruko has a good education, nice clothes and her father makes sure she does not want for anything.

She becomes a good tennis player and eventually winds up in a tournament playing against the Crown Prince of Japan. He falls in love with her and asks for her hand. Her parents know what Haruko will go through as a Crown Princess and the cloistered existence she'...more

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Sep 23, 2010

mwbham rated it

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This spare, formal book was a fictional account not too unlike the real Empress Michiko and her daughter-in-law Crown Princess Masako. Both are commoners who married into Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne.

Schwartz, an American man, has Haruko, a Japanese woman, narrate her story of growing up in Tokyo during WWII, marrying the prince, and the difficulties she experiences isolated in the emotionally barren Imperial Court. I enjoyed the detail of the ritualized life of the royal family....more

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Jul 27, 2010

Carma Chemezova rated it

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I probably would have given this 3 1/2 stars if I could. I did enjoy the book. It was an interesting topic and had beautiful language and occassional moments of true feeling, however, I feel like the author was at times trying to hard to be profound- the kind that really just passed me by but then I wonder if it is just me- did I miss something- am I just not smart enough to get it? So maybe for someone else it would be 5 stars who knows. As an example, here is a quote from the book: "And m...moreI probably would have given this 3 1/2 stars if I could. I did enjoy the book. It was an interesting topic and had beautiful language and occassional moments of true feeling, however, I feel like the author was at times trying to hard to be profound- the kind that really just passed me by but then I wonder if it is just me- did I miss something- am I just not smart enough to get it? So maybe for someone else it would be 5 stars who knows. As an example, here is a quote from the book: "And morning would come- the sun, or its simulacrum, would enter our window, and in that light I would stand before my mirror and see myself." I dare say that the word simulacrum was used improperly here. As I write this now, I could probably tease something nice and profound out of it if I wanted to, just like I did in my high school and college literary criticism courses, but really... I just can't stomach that kind of cowardly vagueness. I feel like people write like that hoping that they will fool others into thinking they are so profound- the emperor's new clothes thing. And yet I must admit that others may not see it that way because it is all subjective.
Anyway, the interesting thing of this book is the contrast of the traditions and customs of the Ancient Japanese Emperial court with the bright, intellectual women from modern society who are brought in to this world because those very atributes attracted the princes who wished to marry them, but then were expected to bow down to the inexplicible excentricities of this ancient world. I found my own personal connection to the story in the parallel I see with modern day motherhood. Women are brought up to be more and more independent and educated than ever before. As a result, motherhood has become an increasingly difficult endeavor. In my own personal experience, I have found it very difficult to walk the line between giving my children everything they need- being the best mother I can for them, and not loosing myself in the process. Especially while the children are young, my philosophical and academic nature serves no purpose and when I have tried to live in that world and the world of motherhood at the same time, I have felt that I failed in both. In this story, these women who become emperial princesses are bound by honor and duty to fill the roll of princess as dictated by tradition- their main purpose being to have a male son, then after that, to be a pretty face that shows up at various functions and delivers talking points- but never expresses herself. Her mind and personality are of no value. This is not exactly what motherhood is, but at times, one's responsibility as a mother does require sacrifice. The difference between the two situations is that as a mother, I know that my sacrifice is for a good, understandable purpose, whereas for these women, the purpose was to uphold tradition that was quickly becoming obsolete and without meaning.(less)

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Mar 17, 2010

Margaret rated it

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A decent, well researched historical novel about Haruto, a "commoner" who marries the Crown Prince of Japan about 1959. I thought the story was delicately and beautifully written as the author tells of Haruto's challenges as her royal duties take on every aspect of her life, and she no longer has any idenity as her former self. Quote: "And so life became a series of rituals written in another age. and rituals became life. --I was gradually disabused of my naivete and made to unde...more

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Dec 17, 2009

Charles Matthews rated it

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They lived happily ever after, all those Disney princesses swept off to the castle by their golden coaches and flying carpets. But real-world princesses are not always so happy. One word: Diana.

The ill-fated princess of Wales was probably on John Burnham Schwartz’s mind as he wrote his terrific new novel, “The Commoner,” but uppermost on it were two other princesses: the one who became the current empress of Japan, the former Michiko Shoda, and her daughter-in-law, the current crown...moreThey lived happily ever after, all those Disney princesses swept off to the castle by their golden coaches and flying carpets. But real-world princesses are not always so happy. One word: Diana.

The ill-fated princess of Wales was probably on John Burnham Schwartz’s mind as he wrote his terrific new novel, “The Commoner,” but uppermost on it were two other princesses: the one who became the current empress of Japan, the former Michiko Shoda, and her daughter-in-law, the current crown princess, who was born Masako Owada. In the novel, which is transparently based on their lives, the former is named Haruko Endo, the latter Keiko Mori.

Like the real Empress Michiko, Haruko is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. An intelligent, pretty, athletic young woman, educated at Sacred Heart University, she is invited to play tennis with the crown prince. People are shocked when she doesn’t let him win. They are more shocked when he falls in love with her and proposes marriage. Haruko has misgivings: She would have to leave her friends and family behind forever. She would give up any hope of independence. She would be forced into a regimented, ritualistic life at a time when Japanese women – the marriage takes place in 1959 – are beginning to discover their freedoms.

But she accepts his proposal, and becomes the first commoner to marry into the imperial line. Her one and only task is to produce an heir, which she does. She loves the boy, Yasuhito, but as Mrs. Oshima, her chief lady-in-waiting (and spy for the empress), icily reminds her, “He may be yours, but he does not belong to you.” And as the full knowledge of the hopeless emptiness of her life bears down on her, Haruko sinks into a clinical depression that robs her of speech.

Haruko recovers, only to see her own story recapitulated when Yasuhito grows up and falls in love with Keiko, a brilliantly accomplished woman with a promising career as a diplomat. Keiko has known more of the world than Haruko was privileged to know, and she turns down Yasuhito’s proposal. But Haruko herself persuades Keiko to accept – and then endures the pain of guilt when Keiko’s fate proves even more crushing than her own. For Keiko is unable to produce an heir. And she, too, falls into depression and withdraws from public view.

The secrets of the Japanese royal family are fiercely guarded, and Mr. Schwartz has based his novel on what little has leaked out from the imperial palace: that the Empress Michiko did in fact go mute for a while when she was crown princess, and that Crown Princess Masako has disappeared from sight after giving birth to a girl – reportedly conceived in vitro. But this is no tawdry, tattling roman à clef. It’s a subtle, finely wrought fiction that evokes Jane Austen.

The novel’s milieu, like that of Austen’s novels, is an island of custom and ritual in the middle of a world in change; after all, Austen’s country houses and their decorum-conscious residents existed in the eye of a hurricane: the Napoleonic wars. It’s the young – attracted to change, subjected to tradition – who must wager a choice between the burden of the past and the temptation of the future.

Some of the characters in “The Commoner” would have been at home in the Jane Austen world. The vaguely ineffective Emperor, modeled on the impotent postwar Hirohito, evokes the passive-aggressive fathers in her novels, such as Mr. Bennet and Mr. Woodhouse. Even some of the dialogue in “The Commoner” could have come, with only minor changes, from an Austen novel, such as this exchange between Haruko and the Empress:

“ ‘That must of course be right,’ I said. ‘But it’s rather confusing how nearly every time one picks up a newspaper of late one finds oneself reading the opinion that Japan has entered the age of progress and technology and must not, cannot, turn back. I wonder what one is to make of such statements.’

“ ‘You should consider reading less,’ my mother-in-law said.”

Mr. Schwartz has followed up his highly praised novel “Reservation Road” with a tour de force; the creation of a wholly convincing Japanese heroine by a male American writer reflects the triumph of imagination over experience. But it’s more than that, for the stories of Haruko and Keiko embody an essential and perdurable tragedy: the stifling of a human being’s potential.

They don’t live happily ever after. Maybe they never did.
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Sep 19, 2009

Tara Chevrestt rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: women-that-really-existed-fiction, historical-fiction, japanese-history-culture

This novel was good, but could be better. The story idea is fantastic, based in 1959 when a "common" girl, Haruko, marries the crown prince of Japan. Readers get a brief glimpse of her life before she literally hands it over, seeing life in Tokyo during world war two, her education, her childhood friend, and her close relationship with her parents, namely her dad. Here I have one complaint. When she meets the prince and begins to "court him" there is complete lack of emotions...more

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Jul 22, 2009

Michelle rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really wavered between a 3 and a 4 on this book. There were a handful of times as I was reading, when the author used a completely unlikely or unbelievable excuse to explain away why Haruko knew or felt something she ought not have. For example, during a tennis match with the Crown Prince, Haruko describes her tennis partner, an American teenager, as someone who likely came from the American Middle West. Schwartz half-attempts to explain how Haruko might know this, which makes the gaffe even w...more

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Jun 06, 2009

Kristie rated it

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Let me start with the positives -- I thought this was an interesting glimpse into a subject matter about which I knew little -- Japanese royalty. The author included a lot of details about the dress, the ceremonies, and the general culture of this society, which I found intriguing. I also liked the repetition at the end of the novel -- the author really drives home that it is the positions, and not the people, that are important.

However, I found several of the characters (the Crown P...more

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Nov 30, 2011

Dot rated it

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I found this book very interesting. It is the fictionalised biography of Empress Consort Michiko of Japan, named in the novel as 'Haruko'.
Like the Empress Michiko, Haruko meets the Crown Prince on the tennis court. As she is a commoner, the marriage is opposed by the Japanese Royal Family and even after the marriage and birth of a son, her primary function being to secure an heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, she is bullied by the Empress and staff. The story of her mental breakdown whic...more

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Jan 14, 2010

Heatherfife rated it

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The beginning is a great historical account of what it was like to live in Tokyo in WWII. Since I live in Tokyo, it was intriguing, moved quickly and was very interesting. The rest of the story wasn't quite as interesting or well-written. I have mixed feelings about the author himself. First of all, it was written from a Japanese woman's perspective, by an American man. I was skeptical about the emotional dryness of the book and wondered about th...more

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Dec 05, 2010

Karen rated it

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Shelves: historical-fiction-adult, read-in-10, asian-culture

Haruko, born in 1934, grows up during World War II, but she is from a pretty well-off family. We see her through her upbringing and to the time when she meets the Crown Prince of Japan and captures his attention and affection through a common interest in tennis.

We watch as she becomes part of the Imperial Family and what that all means. We quickly fly through a period where she has 2 children, don't get too much on their upbringing, and her children's choices in their marriages (where ...moreHaruko, born in 1934, grows up during World War II, but she is from a pretty well-off family. We see her through her upbringing and to the time when she meets the Crown Prince of Japan and captures his attention and affection through a common interest in tennis.

We watch as she becomes part of the Imperial Family and what that all means. We quickly fly through a period where she has 2 children, don't get too much on their upbringing, and her children's choices in their marriages (where her son marries a 'commoner' like she was.

Yeah, a quick span across about 60 years of Haruko's life.

So, The Commoner is told in Haruko's voice, her perspective, yet I didn't feel like she was 'open' to me. I didn't feel the extremes of her passions. Yes, I guess I knew about them (especially the struggles and sadness of many of her years as Crown Princesses), but she just didn't feel...alive to me. We are with her as she grows up, and yet I feel even as a girl/adolescent/teenager/young woman/pre-Crown Princess position that she is much more serious than a 'normal/common' girl. I guess I didn't have as intimate a connection with her as I wished I had had.

From the very beginning, this book did open my eyes to how the Imperial Family and how us common folk are viewed. Never did I realize how NOT enticing it was to marry a prince. I guess Disney will never do a movie about marrying a Japanese Prince??? ...unless you were running away, disappearing with your daughter ;), from your life as a Crown Princesses.

All that being said: It was an enjoyable enough read, a quick read, and I did cry in some parts. I'm glad I read it. It's just not a WOW!! book. Though in some parts I thought it would be very visually appealing for a movie (the countryside, wedding scenes, etc.)

Here are some quotes:
"One doesn't stop wanting certain things simply because they've been taken away; one simply wants them more. .... The trick is to appear to kill desire while actually storing it away in a place so private that no greater authority will ever know of its existence."

"A girl's family was far more important than the girl herself."

"What I am famous for is not what I am. To truly understand what I mean, you must come closer."

"The old does not accept the new."

"your constant criticism gives one little opportunity for reflection."

"Stones, too, must be tended to keep their spirits."

"One can be frightened and still move forward."

"It is possible to recover from a catastrophic loss without ever getting over it."(less)

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Aug 21, 2010

Shannon rated it

Shelves: swapped-donated

The story of Haruko, a "common" Japanese woman who marries a Prince of Japan. Haruko tells her story of her life and the difficulties she has adjusting to her life a Princess and eventually an Empress.

This book started very slowly for me. The first 60 pages or so seemed like background information. I was very worried because the book is only 351 pages long.

I loved the relationship between Haruko and her father.

I feel like there is something miss...more

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Aug 29, 2009

Diane rated it

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The Commoner was a pleasant surprise. Not the return to geisha-land that I'd envisioned when my book club selected it, this story about young Haruto, the first non-arisocratic woman to marry into the sealed Japanese monarchy when she weds the Crown Prince, has layers of story to savor. Haruto's kind and supportive parents, the mean-spirited Empress, vacant Emperor, the stifling trappings, ritual and isolation of the royal palace come vividly to life. Schwartz casts a different light on the sayi...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Mirah W rated it

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Not quite what I expected it to be but still a really good novel. The first half of the book is about Haruko's younger life and meeting the Crown Prince and the second half is about her role as Crown Princess and, later, Empress. While I wish there would have been more about her married life and duties I think I understand the author's purpose in highlighting who Haruko was before the marrige. We don't need to read alot about the marriage itself to know she feels suffocated by the restriction...more

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Mar 09, 2010

Savanna rated it

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The Commoner is a decent read, but I thought that some of the characters were a little too archetypal. The Emperor is stereotypically aloof and inattentive to the emotional needs of his family. He fails to notice how his wife manipulates his daughter-in-law. The manipulative Empress is also an all too classic sort of character: the powerful mother-in-law who stifles the hopes and dreams of her daughter-in-law out of bitterness because someone stifled her hopes and dreams.

I was also ...more

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

John Burnham Schwartz bases his fourth novel on the Empress Michiko and Crown Princess Masako of Japan. Though Japanese imperial life remains shrouded in mystery, Schwartz teases out the details through extensive research. Much to the astonishment and pleasure of the critics, he gives Haruko an authentic and completely convincing voice. While his vivid depictions of postwar Japan are stunning, it is Haruko's vibrant inner life that propels the narrative and resounds with readers. Though not as i

...more

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Nov 24, 2010

Bethany rated it

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I think it actually took me a year or so to finish this book. I try not to start books without finishing the previous one that I had started but alas I did in this case. For some reason today I decided to finish this one. Even after about a year of not reading I still remembered the general idea of what was going on and finished it. I did not like the ending it kinda leaves to many questions unanswered. I also didnt like the structure of the book. The chapters were too short and it got annoying ...more

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Jul 02, 2009

Carole rated it

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2nd in the recent series of Book Club books I've been reading to catch up & forge ahead. The best of three. Written with great detachment which makes it more like a documentary. Quietly tragic story of a commoner who is chosen by the Prince of Japan to be his wife. Initially a love match, the story portrays their marriage as a dreadful kind of imprisonment for her as bit by bit her freedom disappears, even to the extent of having her newborn forcibly weaned & removed more & more from her car...more

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Mar 28, 2010

AngieA rated it

The Commoner: A Novel by John Burnham Schwartz is a fictionalized account of the trials and triumphs of the Crown Princess of Japan. When one usually reads historical fiction, the principles are seldom still among us, but that is the case here. In Schwartz's account, our heroine is Haruko. She is an accomplished and intelligent girl with her whole bright post war future before her. Then she meets the future Emperor of Japan during a tennis match. She beats him. He is intrigued and smitten....moreThe Commoner: A Novel by John Burnham Schwartz is a fictionalized account of the trials and triumphs of the Crown Princess of Japan. When one usually reads historical fiction, the principles are seldom still among us, but that is the case here. In Schwartz's account, our heroine is Haruko. She is an accomplished and intelligent girl with her whole bright post war future before her. Then she meets the future Emperor of Japan during a tennis match. She beats him. He is intrigued and smitten. He persues and she resists until, under pressure of duty, she can resist no longer. Written in the first person, we are invited into Haruko's world as seen through her eyes and emotions. We feel her pain and the frustration of trying to be what she has not been prepared to be and still trying to retain a smattering of her own identity.

After reading this book, which I enjoyed very much, I did some online research into the real "Haruko". The details in Schwartz's account follow perfectly what is available; he has fleshed out the facts remarkably well. But, as is his perogative, he gave the story an ending he would prefer; one that we will probably not see in the life of the current Empress and her daughter-in-law, who makes very few public appearances due to "an adjustment disorder." Both women suffer greatly from depression and anxiety.

After reading this account of royal life and being reminded of the lives of British Princesses Diana Spencer and Sarah Ferguson, why do we continue to glamorize the life of any Princess? While I am a strong believer in the sanctity and institution of marriage as a cornerstone of society, we do our daughters no service by allowing them to believe that someday their prince will come! While we can (and should) continue to share the fairy tale stories of our rich literay heritage, I am grateful for books like Cinder Edna that teach our girls some of the other, more enduring values to look for in a mate.

On the other hand, I was truly inspired by the life of Haruko and how she performed her duty in difficult circumstances. She was strong when it counted and she did her best to love her husband and children. She also tried to improve conditions for the next generation and acted boldly when the situation required it. Would that we all would do what was right in the face of such opposition!(less)

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About John Burnham Schwartz

John Burnham Schwartz grew up in New York City. At Harvard College, he majored in Japanese studies, and upon graduation accepted a position with a prominent Wall Street investment bank, before finally turning the position down after selling his first novel. Schwartz has taught fiction writing at Harvard, The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, and Sarah Lawrence College, and he is the literary d...more

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“Men had suddenly become a scarce commodity, if not quite as sought after as rice.” — 3 people liked it

“Along the wide curving moat surrounding the palace, rows of cherry trees announced the end of their seasonal beauty. Some of the trees were weeping: blossoms in white and palest pink, ponderous with decreptitude, eddying on the brown water, stirred by the paddling of ducks.” — 1 person liked it

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The Commoner: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)

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