Comments on Chapter 1

[Beverly]

The opening sentence grabbed me - very good practical advice

- mother called the war (WWII) stupid - ??? wonder why
mother has many secrets that I hope are revealed

- learned about the Korean taking Japanese names in The Calligrapher's daughter

- can't imagine though mother was making an honest living that the town would embrace her - probably because of Satomi's friend family that they were civil to her

- wonder who was the man that paid for the meal, but mother seemed to know this would cause an issue

- interesting they let the daughter use the bath house

- liked how the weather changed the town's mind on the mother

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop]

Beverly wrote: "The opening sentence grabbed me - very good practical advice

- mother called the war (WWII) stupid - ??? wonder why
mother has many secrets that I hope are revealed

- learned about the Kore..."
***SPOILERS***

I, too, loved the opening line and added it to the GR quotes as a fav.

I suspect Mom has a ton of skeletons in the closet -- luckily so far, she's good at keeping them locked away.

I felt sorry for the Korean girl not winning the contest when even Satomi knew she was clearly the winner and better pianist; I think discrimination was a factor based on nationality.

Interesting thought re: the town embracing the mother; I suppose there would/could be many widows with the political unrest, war, etc...so there was a "reason" -- interesting they rationalized former geisha, though.

Yes, the male benefactor...I wonder if these men expected anything in return for their generosity?

Satomi was the town celebrity, so I guess her using the baths weren't the problem; her mother's beauty, singleness, and familiarity to their husbands was the real issue -- which brings me to question -- following her own advice, what is/was Mom's talent?

Yes, those wives quickly tired of their dear husbands under their roofs all the time during cooler/foul weather; the bar was the perfect place to send them! ;-) Like you said, she wasn't so much of a "threat" after all!