Ian Buruma's epic novel is the richly imagined story of one woman's struggle to survive in the face of war and occupation in the Far East during the Second World War. It should appeal to anyone who loved Memoirs of a Geisha.
'Spare, elegant. . . Buruma's writing is wonderful. . . So beautifully executed that the reader is swept along.' Vanora Bennett, The Times
The story of one woman's struggle to survive in the face of war and occupation in the Far East during the Second World War. When Sidney Vanoven is sent to occupied Japan, it is his dream posting. By day, he works in the censor's office watching Japanese films; at night he immerses himself in the sensual pleasures of Tokyo. His job leads him into the circle of the beautiful film star Shirley Yamaguchi, a passionate and indomitable woman, whose wartime secrets hint at deception and betrayal. As he learns more of her story it seems to echo Japan's own dark secret.
