The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn

This is the last book in the Tales of the Otori series, a wonderful series about the adventures of Otori Takeo and his love and future wife Shirakawa Kaede in feudal Japan. The original trilogy began with Takeo as a young boy whose village was destroyed by an evil warlord. He escaped and was adopted by a nobleman, Otori Shigeru. Takeo is trained as a warrior and discovers that he has special skills known only to those of the Tribe. The Tribe abilities allow him to turn himself invisible, to project the “second self” (an illusionary duplicate), and to use the Kikuta Gaze (when you stare into his eyes you fall into a deep sleep). The original adventures follow Takeo and Kaede as they fall in love, and fall in love, get captured, and eventually reunite, all in the process of uniting the Three Countries. Early on a prophecy is revealed to Takeo:

Your lands will stretch from sea to sea…Five battles will buy you peace, four to win and one to lose. Many must die, but you yourself are safe from death, except at the hands of your own son.

By the end of the third novel the prophecy is fulfilled (except for the dying part ).There is magic, romance, adventure, action, and political intrigue. Its a great series of novels.

The Harsh Cry of the Heron is billed as the Last Tale of the Otori. It picks up 16 years after the third novel. Takeo and Kaede still rule the Three Countries and peace and trade have prosperped. This novel fulfills the last part of the prophecy Takeo heard earlier in life, that he can only die by the hand of his own son. The plot focuses on the political intrigue of the previous novels. The Emperor of Japan has let Takeo rule the Three Countries but has now called his right to rule into question. At the same time Arai Zenko is developing firearms in order to challenge Takeo’s rule in the west. Also we finally get to read about Takeo’s long lost son, and how he has been raised to despise his father. Sounds like a great read huh? Unfortunately the novel focuses too much on side plots and details that never contribute anything to the ultimate climax and resolution. I would estimate that at least half of the novel could have been trimmed down with no loss to the major plots. In the last hundred pages it finally comes around to the concluding battles and they are just as exciting as the battle scenes Hearn wrote before. There is just not enough of them. Takeo seems to hem and haw all through the novel. Nothing really gets accomplished until more then halfway through the book.

For this reason I would recommend this book only to more advanced readers who have read the previous Otori tales and absolutely loved them. I liked the ending to the series but wished it got to the good parts quicker.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

Amelia’s War by Ann Rinaldi

This book deserves 5 stars.

I love historical fiction!

Posted under review

The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi

This book deserves 5 stars.

It’s, I dunno, just a good book.

Posted under review

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi

This book deserves 4 stars.

This book had an interesting plot, and exciting characters. I thought it had enough adventure, but not too much.

Posted under review

Sarah’s Ground by Ann Rinaldi

This book deserves 5 stars.

it shows how life was during the Civil War. It shows and talks about real heroes.

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The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Set in Nazi Germany on the brink of World War II, The Book Thief shows the life of a simple German family during some of the most violent acts of the twentieth century.  Death narrates the work, weaving in his observations of humanity and Nazi Germany with a great deal of dark humor.  The narration skips around at points, Death giving hints as to what is coming up, and then filling in the details.  Especially in the first ten pages this can be very confusing, but once you get into the flow, it’s an amazing read.

The bulk of the story follows Liesel Meminger who is sent to live with a foster family in Munich.  The Hubermans are a working class couple whose children are grown and moved on.  Mama is acid tongued and hates everyone while Papa is kind-hearted and refuses to join the Nazi Party.  Her new best friend Rudy idolizes Jesse Owens and constantly seeks kisses from Liesel.  Liesel’s foster family takes in a Jewish refugee, Max, assists Liesel’s efforts to learn to read.

The cast of characters are wonderfully drawn.  Each one is given nuances that make them impossible to not like.  Major events in Liesel’s story are marked by her stealing books.  At her brother’s funeral, she steals a book.  At a book burning, she steals a book.  As the story progresses, the importance and power of words is wonderfully shown.  Hitler is waging a war with words, and learning to use words is the only way to fight back.

I am typically not one for historical fiction, but I absolutely loved this book.  It’s dark and depressing, but hopeful as well.  I would recommend it to everyone.  It is marketed as young adult here in the US, but in Australia it was marketed at adults.  I would say for older teens with an interest in the subject, it would be fine, but any younger, the kids may not absorb it all.  Read it.

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