astrangerhere's Reviews (1.31k)

I'm only reading the introductory essays of the book now and will refer to the chapter summaries of the novel only when I need to.

The essays were a little simplistic and actually poked a bit at [b:The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan|73389|The World of the Shining Prince Court Life in Ancient Japan|Ivan Morris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266466187s/73389.jpg|71032], which I am reading now.

Both of these books are read in preparation for starting [b:The Tale of Genji|7042|The Tale of Genji (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)|Murasaki Shikibu|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266449345s/7042.jpg|2212225].

A fantastic portrait of a lost art. The story of a man who sells love letters after the object of his affection has died and the effect that it has on him. I think with a proper understanding of how correspondence was a part of life in the period of the novel (1890-1900), the book becomes much more moving.