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Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2

Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2

by
Lian Hearn

Synopsis of Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2

Book II of the internationally bestselling phenomenon Tales of the Otori trilogy, Grass for His Pillow returns us to a mythical, medieval Japan, in a story of clashing powers, divided loyalties, and passionate love played out on a dazzling landscape.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, one of Book magazine's best novels of the year, and one of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books for High School Readers (2002), Across the Nightingale Floor was an international bestseller and critical success, named "the most compelling novel to have been published this year" by the Times (London). In this second tale, we return to the land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances where we first met Takeo-the young orphan taken up by the Otori Lord and now a closely held member of the Tribe-and his beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Maruyama and alone in the world, who must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited.

In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate young love. Yet Takeo and Kaede, drawing on their unusual talents and hidden strengths, must make their way in this tale of longing, ambition, and intrigue. Grass for His Pillow is a tantalizing next installment in a brilliantly imaginative and critically acclaimed Series.

Reviews of Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2

42%

To tell these tales of the Otori, Hearn uses an elevated but limpid style that reads like a fine translation from the Japanese. -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times

This is the second instalment in Hearn's trilogy, "Tales of the Otori", and astonishingly it's even better than volume one, last year's Across the Nightingale Floor. -- Suzi Feay, The Independent

"Grass For His Pillow" is a good enough story, but it seems less an independent Book than a way to get readers from volume one to volume three. -- Curt Schleier, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Emotionally and intellectually the Book is shallow, the characterisation so slight as to be hardly there at all. -- Charlotte Moore, The Telegraph

...where the first Book moved briskly along, evoking a plausible universe, "Grass for His Pillow" often seems forced; the puppet strings at times become visible, which allows the magic to lapse. -- Felipe Nieves, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Although I didn't find this second novel to be as intriguing as the first, I believe that the third novel will bring this epic to a stunning close. -- Marie Hashima Lofton, Bookreporter.com

It is, essentially, a middle Book, carrying us from the huge events of the first and preparing us for the climax of the second, but it makes for a pleasant journey all the same. -- Cindy Lynn Speer SF Site